The Funcle
by MrsSpaceCowboy
Summary: Bella Swan eats, sleeps, and breathes Crosstown Concourse. It's home, work, and the love of her life. She has nothing in common at all with Edward Cullen, who has a job or 2 or 3 of his own, except Maggie, the niece they share, who's dubbed him the funcle because he's like a dad but cooler. It isn't a meet-cute when you've known each other forever.
1. July

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Stephenie owns Twilight. The rest is mine. **

**Title: **The Funcle

**Author: **MrsSpaceCowboy

**Beta: **Mariah Hajile

**Banner: **Lizzie Paige

**Rating: **M

**Summary: **As Director of Special Events, Bella Swan eats, sleeps, and breathes Crosstown Concourse. The vertical urban village is home and work and the love of her life. She has nothing in common at all with Edward Cullen who has a job or two or three of his own. Except Maggie, the niece they share, who's dubbed him the funcle because he's like a dad – but cooler. It isn't a meet-cute when you've known each other forever, and it turns out Maggie isn't the only Swan girl over the moon for the funcle.

* * *

_**July**_

"Oh, honey, you can't wear that," Angela says the moment I open the door of my apartment. "It's a million and one degrees outside. You will melt."

"It can't be _that _bad," I say, walking out and closing the door behind me.

She shakes her head and leads the way to the elevator. "If you say so."

I regret the bell-sleeved peasant blouse and how cute it looked with these shorts and wedges the moment we step foot outside. Ang is right. I am going to die.

"It's not too late to go back up and change," she says.

I glance at the time on my phone and shake my head. "We're already a few minutes late. I don't want to be the last one there."

"What?" she laughs, unlocking the passenger car door with the touch of a button on hers.

"It's my thing, I guess. Day late. Dollar short. My brother's still petty that I missed my niece's homebirth party because I didn't want to be scarred for life."

"They had a birthing party?"

"Hosted by my mother."

"Of course." She smiles, nods, and starts the engine.

"Katie's dad is doctor, so he was there as the doula's back-up. The grandmas-to-be sipped wine and ate cheese like it was an arthouse matinee."

"My god, I love your family."

"It was perfect. For them. Jake wanted to go, but I think he was secretly crushing on Katie more than he wanted to meet Maggie."

"I didn't realize you were with Jake that long ago. How long…"

"Seven years." I look away and make a show of studying the passing houses. "We met during senior year."

"Of high school?" She takes her eyes from the road to stare at me as I nod. "Have you heard from him lately?"

"Just an occasional Facebook message." I pause, swallow, and take a deep breath. "He's engaged."

"Oh."

"It's fine," I say. "It's been five years."

Almost.

And it's not fine. Not really. It hurts a little more than I expected it to.

"What about that guy you went out with a couple of weeks ago? The UPS guy?" she asks, trying to change the subject.

"Eric?" I shake my head. "Zero chemistry."

"Bummer."

"Yeah."

"Shit," she says, after turning onto my brother's street.

Cars line the block and around the corner. "Circle back and park across the street," I say.

Little people and their parents linger inside the open front door and balloons beat against each other in the wind, tied to the mailbox and the porch swing.

I exhale and pause with my hand on the door latch.

"They always have great beer," Ang says. "We got this."

She's right. They do have great beer. They ought to, considering they co-own a microbrewery with their best friends from college. By the holidays, they'll have added restaurateurs to their impressive business card. They've already purchased the lot next to their brewpub in the up and coming Broad District and construction is underway.

That was their next logical step after purchasing this lovely little bungalow in the heart of High Point Memphis.

I open the car door and step out. The scene is even louder than it looked. Laughter and squeals echo from inside the house. The front door is open but blocked by identical twin boys in matching Captain America swim trunks and a small girl in a red bathing suit.

My niece Maggie is flying in the center of the room, balanced in the air by my sister-in-law's younger brother Edward. He's flat on his back, grinning with his knees bent at the waist to support her tiny frame.

She waves with both hands, showing off her missing front tooth with her smile. "Bella! I'm flying!"

"I see," I say. "Happy birthday." I hold her card in the air.

She points to a table in the dining room. Wrapped boxes and gift bags in every shape and size cover every inch of it. "Over there." She giggles and dips, bracing herself for a landing that doesn't come.

Edward shifts on the floor and grins at her delight. I get some of the leftovers as we go by. "Hey, Bella," he says, smiling up at me. His hair looks darker than I remember against my brother's hardwood floors, and longer than normal, too. His jaw is lined with stubble at least a few days old.

His arms are extended, balancing Maggie's legs. The taut lines of muscle disappear in the sleeves of his gray t-shirt. My eyes narrow to take in the word stretched across his chest.

_Funcle_

And then a definition below it.

_Like a dad, only cooler_

I shake my head and keep walking. "Hey, Edward," I say over my shoulder. I add my card to Maggie's haul, and Ang takes a small white box with a sparkling bow attached from her purse and balances it at the top of a small stack.

"Earrings," she shrugs.

I nod and point to the pink envelope with my writing on it. "Gift cards to Justice and Claire's." I shrug. "Katie said Maggie's finally interested in shopping, so…"

"Perfect," Ang says.

"Excellent timing," my brother says, blocking the opposite doorway. He grins. "Mom and Dad should be here any minute."

"Great." I meet him halfway across the room for a hug. "What am I in for?"

"Organic CBD gummies. I've got three bottles in my cabinet already."

I shrug. "It's a step up from the activated charcoal phase."

Garrett frowns and shakes his head. "That's not entirely over, so don't bring it up."

"Gotcha." I nod.

Maggie's laughter derails the warning, and we turn to find her on her feet and Edward upright and on his knees pulling quarters and dimes from the ears of the small crowd of little people around him.

"Is he kidding with that shirt?" I ask Garrett, thumbing over my shoulder at Edward.

My brother's smile widens. "It's great, right? It was a birthday gift from Maggie. She thought it was hilarious. He's Funcle Edward, now."

I glance over at my niece and her hairy, hipster toy. "Hilarious," I echo.

"Edward wears it damn near every time he sees her."

"That's so sweet," Ang says. Garrett nods and disappears when the doorbell rings. Her head cocks to the side as she examines Edward. "So what do you think?"

I scoff and turn away. But the sound of Maggie's sweet laughter in the air has me taking a second glance at her and Edward. "Boxer briefs," I say, and then shake my head and take off in the opposite direction in search of booze.

Ang follows, close on my heels. "Okay, spill. Why don't we like the funcle?" she asks.

"I don't dislike him," I say. "I've known him since he was, like, fourteen."

"Was he cute then, too?" She glances back him. "I bet he was."

"Ang, he was a kid."

"So were you," she says.

"Technically, I was already an adult. I was nineteen when Garrett started dating Katie."

She pauses, doing the math in her head. "So that means the funcle is 25 now," she says. "And he's clearly not a kid anymore."

"Depends on how you look at it." I shrug and take two beers from my brother's fridge.

We sip them and stay in the kitchen, away from the madness of the dozen-plus kids on the other side of the house. Eventually, things gravitate to the tiny backyard and the monstrous inflatable waterslide that takes up ninety percent of the grassed area. The smart adults stay in the kitchen and watch the activities from the giant window.

The rest of us bake on the porch.

Maggie is having a blast, though, and that's what matters. Edward is the only adult to strip down to swim trunks and join the little people in the water. He helps the smaller kids up the slippery ladder and makes sure they go down one at a time.

Ang stares nonstop. I catch him looking our way, once or twice, and have to look away when his lips turn up in a grin. Edward has always been a little too cute for his own good. The shadow beard only ups his game.

"He's a baby," I remind her.

She grunts a small laugh. "Luckily we're pretty much half way between the cradle and the grave at this point, so we can swing either way."

"Well, that sounds like fun," my mother says from behind me.

I turn to hug her, still giggling at my bestie's rationalization. "Ang has a crush on Edward," I say.

Mom takes a long sip from the wine glass in her hand and nods, admiring the view. "Don't we all."

I shake my head and down the rest of my beer. "Y'all are so bad," I say. "I'm going inside for another."

I find my dad in the kitchen, pacing with his cell phone glued to the side of his head. "I understand." He spots me and pauses long enough to kiss my temple on his way by. "But I'm at my granddaughter's birthday party, and a reliable source tells me it's almost time for cake, ice cream, and presents. Call them back and tell them I'll meet them first thing Monday morning and I'll stay until every question and concern is handled." He stops, stares out the tiny kitchen window at the melee, and smiles. "Don't worry about it, Chelsea. Enjoy the rest of your day."

"Trouble?" I ask.

"Indecisive new client. Nothing that can't wait. What's new with you?"

"Not a thing."

We hide out together and watch the meltdowns from afar when the children get the news that it's time to come in. Their parents keep them outside a few extra minutes to dry, and Angela comes in with Mom before the crowd. Edward follows in his now damp Funcle shirt, toweling his wet hair and listening to Katie and their mother, Esme, bicker over which should come first – gifts or food.

"Food," Katie ends the debate by pulling two gallons of ice cream from the freezer. "The twins have soccer practice and have to be picked up early. I don't want them to miss out."

The little ones trickle in, a few at a time, until we're huddled shoulder-to-shoulder around the piano in the living room. Maggie settles next to Edward on the bench, and he waits for Katie's cue to start playing "Happy Birthday."

My sweet niece covers her mouth with her hand to stifle her giggles when Edward and my dad sing loudly off key and make a show of it. Her other grandfather, Carlisle, adds the obligatory "and many more" closing. Maggie claps and hugs them each in turn, starting with the funcle, of course.

She blows out six pink candles topping a rainbow-themed unicorn cake. My mom and Esme take over and coordinate who's cutting cake and who's passing out the tiny cups of vanilla or chocolate Blue Bell ice cream. Katie flits around taking plates to groups of kids and moms spread throughout her house.

Angela and I find a corner in the small parlor attached to the dining room. Dad and Edward deliver our cake. Edward has a small stack of the ice cream cups tucked in the crook of his arm. He hands me a chocolate before turning to Ang. "Vanilla or chocolate?" he asks.

"Vanilla, thanks." She takes her cup, and deserts me by striking up a conversation with dad about his private security business.

Edward and I sit in awkward silence a few feet away from them, eating pink and blue cake on a shared couch. He smells like hose water and grass with shower undertones. "What have you been up to?" he finally asks.

I think the last time I saw him was Memorial Day at his parents' house, so I do a mental rundown of how I've spent my summer and frown. "Working," I say. "You?"

"I spent a week in Kitty Hawk, surfing with some friends. Other than that, just working."

"Adulting sucks."

Another swell of little people interrupts his answer. It's birthday present time. Edward excuses himself and walks out the front door before the full invasion hits. The twins' mom shows up and they have a double tantrum over leaving until she suggests that Maggie open their gift before they go.

Maggie is all smiles. She tears away strips of Avenger's wrapping paper until an art set is revealed. The twins wipe their faces and smile when she thanks them. One of them holds the door open for Edward to come back in. His arms are full with an oversized wrapped box topped by a gigantic red bow.

Maggie doesn't notice because she's busy opening a Lily Pond playset from my parents. Once she thanks them and tosses the box to Garrett, Edward lowers his gift to the empty spot on the floor in front of her. She looks up at him and grins before lifting the lid of the box. She falls back onto her legs and feet, covers her mouth with her hands, and starts to cry. A fuzzy yellow head pops out of the box and a puppy stares at Maggie, wagging its tail.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I whisper to Angela. "He got her a puppy. How are any of us supposed to compete with that? Look at her." I nudge her arm and point to Maggie.

My niece pulls the puppy from the box and erupts in a fit of giggles when it licks her face and neck. It's fuzzy and tiny and wiggling all over the place.

I frown. The gift cards seem lame even to me at this point. And I decide then and there, maybe I do dislike the funcle.

* * *

**This was originally written for the Babies at the Border 2 compilation. Thanks to Jeannie and Consuelo, authors, banner makers, betas, readers, and everyone who contributed to this cause. I'm always amazed at what we can accomplish when we come together. **

**Thank you to Lizzie Paige for a perfect banner, Iris for fixing my many mistakes, and M and Rhonda for prereading. Each part of the original oneshot will post as a separate chapter, and then we'll pick up with a short continuation. I wish I could give y'all a regular posting schedule, but I'm afraid this will be like some of my past WIPs since I haven't been able to get ahead as much as I'd like. But y'all know me… I always finish what I start. Eventually. **

**Thanks for reading! It's been a while, I know, so feel free to review and let me know y'all are still out there. See you soon. xo **

**MSC**


	2. August

**_August_**

"Hello." I balance my phone between my ear and shoulder and step into a pair of killer black heels.

"Hey, hold on a sec," Garrett says. "I need a number four with a Sprite, a number two with a Coke, and a hamburger Happy Meal with apples and apple juice."

"Pull around to the first window for your total," a voice says in the background.

"Sorry," my brother says to me.

"Don't let Mom find out you're feeding Maggie McDonald's," I say. "She will disown you."

"Then don't tell her. Fast Food Fridays are our favorite night of the week. You should come some time. We watch movies, pig out, fall asleep by nine…"

"Sounds exciting."

"It is." He laughs and tells me to hang on again so he can pay for their food and be on his way. "Listen," he says, pulling out into traffic. "Mom is already driving me nuts about your birthday next month. What day is good for you?"

"Ugh," I say. "What is she doing?"

"Nothing big," he says. "Just family."

"You promise?"

"Promise."

"Let me check my calendar, and I'll let you know."

"Sounds like a plan," he says. "You know you're welcome to get some fast food and watch Moana with us tonight if you want…"

"Can't," I say. "Tonight's the charity auction for the afterschool arts program. I want to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Well, don't forget to text me," he says. "Love you."

"You, too."

I end the call and do a quick touchup on my makeup before hitting the door. The halls are empty and there's no wait for the elevator. Most of my neighbors started their Friday nights by not coming home at all. The ground floor is busier and a loud hum carries through the lobby.

People in various stages of Memphian scatter between the entrance and the hall that leads to Atrium 3. The bougie rich mingle with the artists, musicians, and thespians that pieced this initiative together to bring a touch of the arts to the afterschool programs in the city.

This has been on the books for months, and one of my favorite local bands is playing. I enjoy working with them almost as much as hearing them play. They handpicked their own opening act this time, instead of asking for recommendations from my team.

I'm intentionally late to the party and thrilled to find a seemingly happy room full of people. The dancefloor is crowded and people move freely around the tables that line the perimeter of the room and host the items up for bid tonight.

My assistant Marcus spots me immediately and makes his way over. "Well?" he asks, looking around the room with a wide smile on his face.

"Perfect," I say.

He flags down the nearest server and steals a glass of champagne. "Enjoy," he says, presenting it to me with a flourish.

I take it from him and glance around.

At the back of the room, on a small stage, a lone singer named Zafrina Smart cradles a mic and covers a B.B. song with the members of the man himself's old band sitting a few feet away from her in the audience.

_Only in Memphis. _

I smile and sway a little to the music.

Her band's amazing. Not bad at all, until I hone in on the piano player.

Well, well… if it isn't the funcle. My eyes narrow. Against my better judgement, I move closer and take an empty seat at the table closest to Edward's position on stage. There's an unobstructed view of his back and the muscles moving beneath his black dress shirt as he plays. Occasionally, his long, slender fingers caress keys at either end and his hands are just as perfect as the rest of him. His jaw is clean shaven and sharp when his head turns to examine the audience.

I finish my champagne and wave for another.

Zafrina wows the audience with a stunning final note held long enough for the applause to begin before she's even finished. I clap with everyone else she's enamored for the last half hour. The couples on the dancefloor respectfully request an encore. Ever gracious, she complies. The happy hum of appreciation spreads through the room like wildfire.

Zafrina covers her mic, leans over to the guitar player standing next to her, and whispers something. The guitar player walks over to Edward first. She rests a hand on the back of his neck and whispers in his ear. My lips press together, and my shoulders tense. But then he grins and nods, and my mouth curves, too.

The drummer taps out a beat with his hands. Edward joins him, patting the top of the wooden piano in time. Smiles break out across the room the second before Zafrina steps up to the mic and grinds out, "I can't stand the rain against my window…"

Bodies move. Even mine, in my seat. She demands it. Her band demands it. And in the middle of it all, Edward is having a blast swaying in his seat and playing his heart out.

Downing the second champagne does nothing to quell the heady combination of music and alcohol spreading through my veins and warming my limbs. It always starts in my knees.

When they take their final bows, Edward does a double take the moment he notices me in the crowd. A wide smile spreads slowly across his face, and he heads straight for my table.

"Hey," he says, breathless and flushed. "I'd wondered if you might be here."

"Tonight's kind of a big deal. I had to pop in and make sure things are going smoothly." I wave at the empty chair next to me. "Zafrina was amazing."

He finds her across the room and nods before taking the seat I offered. "I love playing with her and Siobhan. It's always a good time."

I take another champagne when a server walks by and stop him with a hand to the elbow. "Will you bring my friend a…" I pause, giving Edward a chance to respond.

"Broke Brothers."

"Sure," he says. "Be right back."

"Gotta support the family business," Edward says with a grin and shrug. "I thought you were working." He stares at the flute in my hand.

"I'm always working." I shrug. "But I'm not here in an official capacity tonight. I love Ornamental Blue, and I'm more than a little curious about the auction items."

The server returns with a bottle of my brother's finest lager, as promised.

Edward takes it from him and reaches for his wallet. I touch his arm and shake my head. "It's on the house," I say. I look over my shoulder at the tables lining the back of the room with auction items.

Edward stands and holds out a hand to me. "Let's go see what all the fuss is about."

His palm is fire against my skin and when I stand, I'm no longer sure it's the alcohol affecting my knees. Once I'm steadied, he leads the way over to the nearest table. Several local restaurants offered "date night" packages – dinner for two, drinks and dessert included. There are tickets for Playhouse on the Square, the Orpheum, and the Children's Museum.

We skip the Graceland table and skirt around the large group of people surrounding it.

"I'll have to thank Ang when I see her tomorrow," I say. "She works in PR at Graceland."

"_That's _where I know her from," Edward says. "I knew she looked familiar."

"Sorry?"

"Does she have a boyfriend named Ben?" he asks.

"They're married," I say. "For about a year now. How do you know them?"

"Ben and I worked together at Gibson for a while."

"Small world," I say. "When were you there?"

"Most of college, actually."

"I thought you worked at Buster's when you were in college."

He nods. "I did."

"What do you do, now?" I ask. "You have five jobs, right?"

The corner of his mouth turns up in amusement. "Three, but I'm good at all of them, so…" He lifts his beer for a drink, and I stare. At his fingers…his hands…the muscles in his neck as he swallows…"I'm a sound engineer at Sun Studios," he says.

"Wow."

"Yeah, I figured you'd consider that one a real job."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He shrugs and looks around the room. "You're pretty easy to read."

"Well, what are your other jobs?"

"I do tours, downtown…haunted history type stuff. And I tend bar a few nights a week."

"So the band doesn't count?" I ask.

"Of course it counts, but I don't really think of it as a job."

"That's…" A dozen words float on the tip of my tongue. "A lot."

"It's fun," he says, glancing around at the suits and heels surrounding us. "All of it. I like what I do."

"The funcle," I say.

"That one's my favorite." He grins.

"Not fair, by the way." I give him a narrowed side-eye. "Giving Maggie a puppy for her birthday was not cool."

He laughs and stops short. "You don't like Sam?"

"Who's Sam?"

His brows furrow. "Maggie's puppy… Samantha."

"Oh, I didn't know she named it Samantha. And it's not that I dislike her, but really, Edward. A puppy?"

"I had permission from Garrett and Katie."

I shake my head. "How do the rest of us compete with that?"

He leans forward until his lips are almost touching my ear. "You can't," he says.

I push him away and he laughs again, catching my hand and holding onto it this time. We walk in silence for a few moments. Ornamental Blue takes the stage and starts sound check. Heads turn across the room and the buzz of anticipation swells around us.

I turn back to the table we've paused in front of and lean in for a closer look. "Is this you?" I ask, looking back over my shoulder at Edward.

It's a Haunted Pub tour package from Alchemy Lane, a popular metaphysical shop downtown.

Edward shrugs. "If you want it to be," he says.

I take a long sip from my champagne glass and then set it on the table next to the bid sheet. I glance at Edward again, starting with the mess of bronze curls on his head and pausing at his broad shoulders before going lower. My fingers fumble with the pen until the tip of it hits paper and I scrawl my name and a $100 promise to outbid the current high of $30.

"That's a lot of money," Edward says, leaning in and letting his chest rest against my exposed shoulder.

Our cheeks are close enough to touch, and I can almost taste the Broke Bothers beer in the air between us.

"It's for a good cause," I say with a shrug.

A microphone squeals from the stage, and Tyler Crowley takes a moment to introduce himself and the rest of Ornamental Blue.

"Thank y'all for coming out tonight," he says. "Drink up and throw away some money, okay? Let's help these Memphis kids show us what they can do."

With that, the band launches into their first number – a slow, jazzy song perfect for the end of summer and a night hot enough to melt tar.

"Would you like to dance?" Edward whispers against my hair.

I swallow and nod. Because I would. But before I let him lead me onto the floor, I throw back what's left of my champagne for courage.

Edward is flirting with me. And he's no baby. That much is clear.

He's a good dancer and takes the lead without hesitation. His hands settle on my hips, and he hums along with the music. We're in our own little world, inching closer and closer together so that three songs in, our bodies are pressed tightly and my head is on his shoulder.

We stay that way for most of the night, wordless and loaded, locked in each other's arms. I lean back without pulling away and wait for him to speak after the last note has sounded and the band has said goodnight.

The champagne has long worn off, so it's definitely Edward warming me, through and through. He studies my face and lets his gaze settle on my lips. I lick them in anticipation a moment before his press against them. It's a quick, soft peck. Then his lips part and draw me in the same moment his arms tighten around me.

"Come up," I say, pulling away just long enough to get the words out.

He nods and walks us backward toward the elevator.

The harsh arrival ping is what finally knocks some sense of propriety back into us. He lets go and takes a step back but keeps a tight grip on my hand. We step in together and stand in silence, waiting for the doors to close.

The silence is even more suffocating once they do.

"This is crazy," I say.

He looks over at me and smiles. "Maybe a little."

"What are we doing?"

The elevator eases to a stop and the doors open. Edward looks at the empty hall, then at me. "Whatever you want. We can say goodnight right now and chalk it up to good booze and good music." He smiles. "It's all up to you."

"And good company," I say, squeezing his hand.

"That, too."

The elevator doors start to close, but Edward steps forward and uses his forearm and hand to trigger the automatic warning that slides them open again.

I swallow and step out. Edward hesitates until I look over my shoulder and say, "Well, are you coming or not?"

He follows me down the hall, into my apartment, and through it to my bedroom. The moment the door closes behind him, he reaches for me and pins me against it. Then he kisses me with his tongue and his teeth, and I moan against his mouth because one of his hands is running down my body, splayed between my tits along the way to tease them both. His fingers tug the hem of my dress, pulling it up so it gathers between us.

"Fuck," he whispers, mouth still on mine. He doesn't bother with a single finger, pushing his whole hand past the waistband of my underwear.

My eyes close, and I rest my head against the solid oak behind it. His lips stay busy in tandem, ghosting across my lips, down my neck, and back up to my ear. And when my poor knees finally give out the same moment I come on his fingers, those muscles in his hand hold me up as his other arm snakes around my waist.

His cheeks are pink and his eyes nearly black when I finally open mine and take in his stare. His breath is shallow and he's taut from head-to-toe. I reach up and start with the top button of his dress shirt and work my way down.

His fingers slide through my flesh in farewell as he pulls his hand from my panties. He helps with the buttons of his sleeves and tosses his shirt on the floor behind him. I lick my lips and lower the zipper of his pants, waiting to see if he'll stop me.

He doesn't, so I push them down his hips along with the waistband of his boxer briefs.

Called it.

I smile and kiss his chest, running my lips and tongue over his skin. His fingers thread in my hair, gently following my lead. His other hand goes to work on my zipper, lowering it down my back. Cool air hits my skin, so I pause to straighten and let the dress hit the floor.

He stares. Eyes me from head to toe.

"What?" I ask.

"I don't know where to start," he says.

I smile and tilt my head glancing at the soft blue comforter a few feet away. "The bed."

He lifts me up and our naked chests touch and so do our lips. He follows me down onto the king-sized pillowtop in a blur of tongue and limbs.

Edward takes his time, kissing me in places no one's even seen in more than a year. And even though it's been a while, my body reignites with the simple gift of his touch.

Hours later, I wake to The Temptations crooning the chorus of "My Girl" across the room. Two seconds later, Edward bolts upright next to me in bed.

"Shit," he whispers, untangling himself from the sheets to walk across the room.

I swallow and stare at his naked ass.

"Hey," he says. "I'm late. I know. I'm sorry." He balances the phone between his head and shoulder and works his pants and underwear up his body. "I'll be there in ten. Yes, with _coffee. _Promise."

He drops the phone next to his keys on my dresser and searches in the muted sunlight for his shirt. I reach down and pluck it from the floor. If he's going to run out on me, he's going to look me in the eye as he does it.

I hold the shirt and clear my throat.

He turns, smiles, and walks around the bed to sit down next to me. He takes the shirt and pulls it on. "I've got to go," he says. "Maggie and I have a standing thing every Saturday at nine. I forgot to set an alarm last night." His cheeks go pink and he leans forward to brush his lips against mine.

He lingers, rubs my naked thigh with his full palm, and runs the fingers of his other hand through the tangles in my hair. Against my better judgement, I dare a taste of him before he pulls away.

"I have to go, but I'll call you," he says, grabbing his shoes and stuffing his wallet and phone in his pockets. He gets all the way to the bedroom door and stops. "Last night was…"

It's my turn to blush. "Yeah." I nod and touch my fingers to my lips.

The memory high lasts until my apartment door slams shut a few moments later.

Then the panic sets in.

I've only ever had one other one night stand, and it happened in Italy. With a guy whose name I could barely pronounce. I've never seen him since. I never will.

"Fuck." The word echoes in my empty apartment as the reality of last night sinks in. I reach for my phone and call Angela.

"Hello?" She's post-coffee chipper and out of breath.

"Can you come up?" I ask.

"Be there in five."

I have enough time to pee, scramble into homely pajamas, and run a brush through my hair before she knocks and lets herself in. She has a reusable tray with two lidded coffee cups resting in it.

"You're up early," she says, handing over one of the tumblers.

I take a sip and wave at the couch. "We should sit," I say. "This is going to take a minute."

"You're starting to freak me out." She takes a seat next to me, anyway.

"I slept with the funcle," I say, wincing when her mouth drops open.

"You. Did. Not."

"Yeah."

"Was it fabulous? Please tell me he's not just a pretty face. That would be such a shame." My fingers fly to my lips and my cheeks heat as memories of him under me and all over me flood my mind. She giggles and nods. "I knew it," she says. "I _knew _he'd be good in bed."

"Ang, you're missing the point. I slept with Maggie's uncle. I slept with Garrett's brother-in-law."

She nods. "He's not _really _family," she says. "Not yours, anyway, so it's okay."

"It's not okay."

"He's hot as fuck and he _madeyoucome_?" She rushes through the last part with eyebrows raised in question.

I nod. "Twice."

She tosses her head back and groans. "Dammit."

"It doesn't matter," I say. "Last night? It didn't happen, and it definitely isn't going to happen again."

She frowns and shakes her head. "You are no fun."

She leaves soon after to meet Ben for breakfast downstairs at Global Café. Normally I'd go with her, but the events of this morning have knocked me off kilter. And that's after last night already put me on my ass.

I slept with the funcle.

The cute, funny, piano-playing funcle with perfect dimples and a mouth that set my thighs on fire. I begged him for things and whimpered when he touched me.

And now I'll have to look at him and remember it on every holiday from now until eternity.

But that's not even what's bothering me.

My bedroom still smells like sex and Edward. I almost hate to wash him from my skin so soon, but I have a few questions for my brother, so I take a quick shower and head his way.

Garrett looks surprised to see me when I knock on his front door an hour later. "What's wrong?" he asks, inviting me inside with the sweep of his arm.

"Nothing, why?"

"You're out of Crosstown, that's all." He laughs and leads the way to the kitchen. "Hungry?" he asks. "I was about to make omelets."

"Kind of late for breakfast, isn't it?"

He runs his teeth over his bottom lip. "Not on a kid-free morning," he says with a satisfied grin.

"Ew." I hold up a hand and shake my head.

"I love Maggie," he says. "But I miss my wife. It's nice to go back to bed, for sleeping _and _other stuff. We live for Saturdays."

"About that… Why does Edward get Maggie-time every week?" I ask. "She's _my_ niece, too."

Garrett closes the door of the fridge, and stops dead in his tracks to stare. "Because he asks." He shrugs. "You've never asked to spend time alone with _your _niece. You've never taken her anywhere, and you probably have no idea what her favorite color, or show, or song is. Edward does. He knows all of those things, because he's here all the time. He picks her up from pre-school and takes her for ice cream. Edward gets Maggie time because he wants it."

"I…"

"I'm proud of you, sis. I swear to God I am so damn proud of you. You're a big fucking deal. You got the job of your dreams. You're making bank."

"But?" I ask, because it's there – hanging unspoken at the end of every sentence.

"We never see you. You spend every waking moment in that building."

"It's where I live," I say through gritted teeth, already tired of this fight.

"You're right. It's also where you work, where you go to the gym…Hell, you grocery shop, there."

"That's kind of the point of a community like mine."

"That's exactly what I mean," he says, shaking his head. "When Jake left, you stayed. When was the last time you left your building? Before today."

I swallow.

Maggie's birthday party.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your Saturday time," I say.

"Don't be mad," he says. "We've missed you, okay?"

"I'm not mad." I turn for the door before the tears can slip out, but pause with my hand on the knob. My exact petty level turns out to be ratting on the funcle. "He gives her coffee," I say over my shoulder. "Edward gives Maggie coffee."

* * *

**A/N – Happy hump day. ;)**

**Thanks for reading! See you soon. **

**MSC**


	3. September

_**September**_

Edward leaves a voicemail, two days later.

We text a few times the following week. He tries to make plans, but I have to decline both offers because of work. And yoga. And sheer willpower.

That doesn't mean I don't think about him an obsessively weird amount of time. Hours. I washed my sheets as soon as I got home from my brother's house. My whole bedroom smelled like us. I couldn't stand it.

But sex like that can't be washed away. It's embedded and rooted. Every time my head hits my pillow, I remember his crazy hair between my legs and the way he looked up and grinned before sliding up my body and into me. There's not an inch of skin on me that hasn't felt his lips.

I replay the whole night on a loop instead of slipping into dreamless sleep. Night after night.

There are a million reasons I should forget it instead. The most important is Maggie.

Her funcle is amazing, in and out of the sack, but too many people – too many relationships – are on the line. And even amazing guys don't like being brushed off repeatedly, so the texts and invitations are short lived and we fade back to nonexistence soon enough.

So I focus my energy elsewhere and take my brother's advice. I ask for time with my niece.

I may not have officially broken up with my life outside of Crosstown when Jake left me, but that's exactly what happened. It's hard to undo. Maggie seems happy to see me when I start showing up on Wednesday nights for Beer on Broad mini-concerts at the Broke Brothers' microbrewery. My parents are thrilled. This has been a family thing for all of them for a while, and it's a way to support Garrett and Katie and their business partners, Jared and Paul.

It's obvious Katie doesn't know about the things I did with her little brother. She latches herself to my side, affectionate and attentive, as always. She mentions Edward in offhanded, secondhand ways like always. Nothing's different for her.

It's hard not to ask questions. I want to know how he is. If he thinks about me. If maybe I should text him or if maybe I've waited too long.

I get a different voicemail two weeks after the auction from Laurent James, the owner of Alchemy Lane. I'm the winner of a Haunted Pub Tour. All I have to do is call the shop and speak with him, his wife Vickie, or Edward.

The voucher arrives by mail a few days later.

I stuff it into my wallet despite having no plans to ever redeem it.

Edward is surprisingly absent despite being a constant for Maggie. I always seem to miss him in passing. He works Wednesday nights from what I've gathered by random pieces of conversations with his parents and Katie.

We celebrate my 30th birthday the third Wednesday I show up for Beer on Broad. Angela and Ben join us, and Katie opts for a single candle on a giant confetti Bundt cake. I cry when the band of night turns out to be Ornamental Blue and they open their set singing "Happy Birthday" to me.

There's a ticket to Saturday's Red Birds game tucked inside my birthday card from Maggie.

"Do you like baseball?" she asks me.

"Sure, I do. Your PopPop used to take me and your daddy to games when we were kids."

"It'll be fun," she says. Then she grabs my hand and pulls me onto the patio. "We should dance."

She's too cute to turn down, so we sway together in the evening breeze and twist our hips when the tempo picks up. She makes it impossible to stay sad. Even if every word of every song reminds me of her funcle.

Her gift ends up being a double. Edward is already there, sitting next to Maggie, at AutoZone Park Saturday afternoon. He's wearing the famous Funcle shirt coupled with an unbuttoned Sun Studio Crown Electric work shirt over it.

I'd bet an entire paycheck he hasn't shaved at all since the last time I saw him.

His cool hello stings, even though I deserve it and the casual nod he gives me before looking in every direction but mine for the rest of the night. Impressive, considering the extra inning and fireworks show at the end of the game. He spends most of his time fetching junk food to share with Maggie even though Katie is giving him the stink eye. Maggie oohs and ahhhs from her perch on his shoulders during the fireworks.

"Thanks for the ticket," Edward says to Katie the moment the show ends. He flips Maggie on her way back to her feet. She giggles and hugs his leg. "Later, Tater." He kisses the top of her head and disappears in the crowd.

"Tater?" I ask Katie as we trudge through the line of people waiting to get through the exit gates.

"Sweet," Maggie says. "Not the icky brown ones."

Edward's free of the swell and already across the street by the time we get out. I stop and wave to get his attention but he's focused on a Bird scooter and his phone.

"…okay, Bella?" Garrett says, forcing my attention back to him and the rest of my family.

"What?"

"We can give you a ride home," he says. "So you don't have to call an Uber."

I glance across the street and watch the back of Edward's pale gray shirt whipping in the wind behind him as he zooms away.

I thumb over my shoulder in the direction of Beale's soft hum. "Ang and Ben are having drinks. I think I'm going to hang out with them for a while, first, but thanks."

He smiles and nods, clearly happy that I'm out and about with more than just family these days. "We'll see you later."

It takes a few minutes to get through goodbye hugs with all of them before we part at the corner so they can get to the parking garage and I can make my escape. I text Angela when I get to Alfred's and she walks out onto the second floor patio to check in with me. "You sure you don't want to come in for a bit?" she says, leaning over the railing.

"I should probably find Edward and try to talk to him."

She nods. "Yes," she says. "You should."

I'm not sure where to start. It's too late for any of the ghost tours to be taking off, but Alchemy Lane is still open. It's as good a place as any, since I'm pretty sure I remember Katie saying Edward lives somewhere off Main Street. I cross my fingers in the air between us and turn on my heel.

The crowd thins when I leave Beale and get past the Orpheum. I still have to dodge scooters and hipsters out walking their dogs but the air is quiet on this end. I study every face, in every business, along the way.

There's a thin woman with long, fiery red hair standing with a key in the lock of Alchemy Lane's door when I make it to the construction site blocking the rest of the street past the parking lot this building shares with The Arcade.

"Well, damn," I say.

She looks up and smiles. "Can I help you? Do you need something?" Her hand hesitates.

The crisis I'm having isn't one that candles or sage can fix, so I shake my head. "No, I'm sorry. I was hoping my friend would be here."

"Are you meeting here? I can wait with you."

I shake my head. "He works here."

"Edward?" she asks. Her head turns in the direction I came from. "Not this late." She smiles, checks that the door is secure, and turns to me. "You might find him down at Earnestine and Hazel's."

"Thanks."

"Anytime." She waves and heads for the parking lot.

A red neon Earnestine and Hazel's sign glows in the distance, and I start to wonder if there's even a point. At least it's a bar, and I'll be able to drown my sorrows if Edward isn't there. Then I'll go back to my village of brick and solitude.

An upstairs window is open above the glowing sign. A giant with curly brown hair and dimples leans out on his elbows and blows a plume of vape into the air. I glance up at him, and he winks.

"It's happy hour," he calls down.

I pull open the door and walk into the bar, pausing to glance around the room and let the cool conditioned air hit my skin.

The bartender spreads her tattooed arms on the counter and leans forward. "What can I get you?" she asks.

"Broke Brothers?"

"All I have are bottles."

"That's fine."

She gives me two longnecks and I carry one in each hand up the wooden steps toward the sound of piano music trickling from upstairs. The hall at the top is dark. Huge plaster sections of wall are missing, revealing patches of the original 19th century brick.

My gamble pays off in the smaller second bar, and Edward's back greets me. His shoulders and fingers flex and his whole body moves as he pounds out Paramore's "That's What You Get" with his eyes closed and not a sheet of music in sight.

I stand, paused at the door and wondering if I'm doing the right thing. And then just like before, I move closer to him. The hair on my neck stands on end and I watch his skin pebble as I approach.

His eyes open. His head turns. And we lock gazes, but he keeps playing.

I walk over to him and set my extra beer on the bench next to him as a peace offering. The urge to reach out and rest a hand on his shoulder is strong. Instead, I back away slowly until my legs hit one of the barstools. I claim it and slowly drink my beer while Edward gives the crowded room a mini-set that includes songs from Adele and the Lumineers.

When he's finished, he picks up the beer I left for him and takes a long swig before he pushes back the bench to stand. He gives a small wave of acknowledgement for the applause around the room and glances at the empty seat next to mine.

"What are you doing here?" he asks on approach.

"Looking for you," I say.

He stops just shy of arms reach and stares, making me miss the easy smiles from the night of the auction. "I'm surprised you have time."

I grimace and take it. Because I have it coming. I try to hide the sting by taking a swig of beer and pretending to look around the room. "It's complicated, Edward."

"It really isn't," he says.

"Can we go for a walk?" I ask, motioning to the door. "It's loud in here."

He picks up the bottle I gifted him and finishes it in one long pull. "After you," he says with a wave.

I sip my longneck on my way down the stairs and past the "No dope smoken no cursin no free loden" sign hand-painted on the wall and signed "E.H." I pause at the main bar and leave my empty bottle in a corner with a wave to the bartender.

She zeroes in on Edward behind me and says, "You're done already?"

I turn in time to see him shrug and smile. He looks at me, then back at her. "We'll see."

"Have a good one," she smiles and waves a dishtowel at him.

"See ya, Rosie," he says, sidestepping around me to hold the door open for us.

The asphalt's finally cooled in the dark and the breeze from the river is nice, despite the humidity that lingers. It's not as thick as the silence between me and Edward as we make our way up Main Street, retracing the steps we must have made minutes apart, earlier.

Edward tugs my elbow to pull me out of the way when a scooter driver loses control and heads right for us. The obviously drunk college kid misses us by inches and plows into the wall outside The Green Beetle bar and grill. The crowd of guys he broke away from stops to take care of him, so Edward and I keep walking.

"You don't have to do this," he finally says.

"I don't even know what I'm doing."

"Trying to find a way to let me down easy, right?" He stops walking and tucks under the bright red awning of an art gallery that closed hours ago.

I follow but keep my distance. "I don't really know what to say." I growl and shake my head. "It isn't fair. Not to you. Not to me. But honestly, way too many people could get hurt by this." He takes a step forward. I hold my ground and continue. "My brother. Your sister. _Maggie_."

His hands lift and settle on my hips and his lips drag across my forehead and into my hair. "But it's okay if it hurts me, right?" I press my chest against his and close my eyes. "If it hurts us?"

"It was one night," I say, trying to convince us both.

"It was a _good _night." His words tickle my neck before his lips press soft kisses in a sweet trail up to my ear. I rub against him again, leaning my head to give him access. "Maybe no one will get hurt," he whispers against my skin. "Or maybe it _will_ end badly. Who knows?"

"There's our parents, too…" My eyes close and my hands grip his waist to keep him anchored to me.

"Your parents love me."

I laugh, and he goes in for the kill – pressing his lips against mine and turning us so he can walk us over to the wall. My back is cushioned by his sprawled hand between it and brick. His other hand cradles my head with long, curved fingers tangled in my hair. He kisses me there in the soft shadows of streetlamps with the distant wail of Beale Street swirling in the air around us.

And I kiss him back.

Because I _do _like the funcle.

I like him a lot.

* * *

**A/N – Ahhh, sweet Guest. A meet-cute is "an amusing or charming first encounter between two characters that leads to the development of a romantic relationship between them." Hope that helps. :)**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. Y'all are the best. **

**MSC**


	4. October

_**October**_

"I need a favor."

"Garrett, it's…" I hold the phone away from my face to check the time. "Seven o'clock in the morning."

"I know," he says. "I'm sorry. But it's fall break, and we're supposed to leave in an hour to drive to Kansas City. One of Katie's friends is getting married and Katie's a bridesmaid. Mom was supposed to take care of Maggie for us, but her flight home from Miami has been cancelled because of the hurricane. Dad says he can do it alone, but come on. This is Dad we're talking about. And Carlisle and Esme have tickets to a concert in Little Rock tonight, so they can't do it…"

"Slow down."

"Can you watch Maggie and Sam today and tonight and maybe through Sunday if Mom can't get home?"

"Oh, wow." I sit up in bed and look down at Edward sleeping next to me. "When do you need to drop them off?"

"On our way out of town. Like an hour? And it won't be all weekend. Edward usually spends a good part of Saturday with Mags. And maybe Dad can watch Sam if you're not sure about the puppy thing…"

Edward's phone buzzes across the room.

He pops one eye open and slides his hand up my leg. I push it away and mouth the word _stop. _He grins and rolls out of bed and onto his feet. He grabs his phone and leaves the room. I can barely hear him in the living room when he finally answers it.

"Garrett, bring them. It's fine. We'll figure it all out, okay? Does the puppy have a kennel?"

"Yes, and Maggie is packing Sam's bag as we speak."

"Bring coffee," I say. "See you in a bit."

It takes Edward longer to wrap up his call with Katie. I wait for him, sitting up with the sheets twisted and clutched under my chin. He's completely naked, too, and smiling when he comes back.

"Well, there go our plans for tonight," he says, pausing at the end of the bed. "I can take Sam if you need me to."

"Um." I lose my train of thought at the sight of him and swallow. "I'm good."

His eyes narrow when I drop the sheets and lick my lips. "Bella," he says, glancing behind him like my brother might appear.

"Edward." I move the sheets and put my feet flat on the bed with my knees in the air.

He stares. Licks his lips.

Got him.

We spend the next half hour the same way we've spent almost every night for the past month. Buried in each other and begging.

I'm barely out of the shower and wrapped in a robe when Maggie knocks on my door. Katie's eyes are wide and Garrett's arms are full. Sam is twice as big as the last time I saw her, but calm and panting at the end of pink leash lined with silver studs. It matches her fitted doggie vest.

Maggie's wearing yellow heart-shaped sunglasses and a white dress covered in daises. "Hey, Bella," she says, leading Sam into my apartment.

"Good morning, Maggie. Sam." I watch them brush past me and point to an empty space between the dining room and kitchen. "You can put the crate there," I tell Garrett.

He lowers it to the ground and pulls a tie-dyed backpack from his shoulder. He takes out bowls and a small bag of food. "Her favorite toys are in here, and there are some puppy pads, too. She's going really well with potty training. Make sure to walk her after she eats. Maggie knows her schedule."

"Okay," I say.

"Edward is going to pick Maggie up in the morning, probably around 8:45," Katie says. "If Renee gets home tomorrow, he'll take her over there tomorrow afternoon. Your parents are fine with taking Sam, too. I'll text you Edward's number in case you need it."

My cheeks heat, so I look down at the chunky bag parked next to her and mumble, "I think I have it, but go ahead just in case."

"They've had breakfast," she continues as she hands over a separate shopping bag filled with food. And dog treats. "Here are some of their favorite snacks. And Maggie has a shellfish allergy, remember? So no seafood."

"Babe," Garrett says.

"No seafood," I repeat. "Got it."

"We gotta go." Garrett looks at Katie then the door. "We're going to miss your best friend's rehearsal dinner if we don't hit the road soon."

"Okay," Katie says, wincing. "It's just…" She never finishes and takes a quick moment to say goodbye to Maggie.

"It's not you," my brother whispers. "She hates being separated from Maggie for more than a night. She'll cry until we hit the bridge, but she'll be talking about all the booze she plans to kill before we hit West Memphis."

"I can hear you," Katie says.

"Call me a liar," he says with a grin.

She doesn't. And sure enough, there are tears on her face when Garrett ushers her out the door.

Maggie follows me down the short hall to my bedroom and climbs onto my now-made bed with Sam in tow. They sit and watch me sort through clothes in my closet and wait patiently when I slip into the bathroom to dress for the day.

I send Marcus a text to let him know I'll be working from home today, answering emails and returning phone calls.

Maggie doesn't like this plan at all when I fill her in. She crosses her arms and pouts. "I want to play outside. Daddy said you have a playground and a place to walk Sam."

"I'll make a deal with you," I say, stopping at the foot my bed and leaning over to look her in the eye. "I'll take care of all my work stuff before lunch. After lunch, we can go outside." Her shrewd eyes narrow behind darkened lenses. "I'll even let you pick where we go for dinner."

Her lips turn up at the corners. "Anywhere?" she asks.

"Well, anywhere in the general area, sure." We can Uber to McDonalds if she decides to pull the Fast Food Friday card.

"Deal," she says. She settles on the couch with Sam on her lap and reaches for the TV remote.

They're surprisingly unproblematic as the morning creeps by. There isn't much I can't put off until Monday, and it doesn't take long at all to finish what has to be done.

As promised, we spend the rest of the day outside. There are designated walking areas for pets, and Maggie has everything Sam could possibly need from poop bags to a folding water bowl. There are food trucks all over the back lot, so we snack on bacon grilled cheese sandwiches while Sam has chicken dinner from a can.

Our next stop is the playground, where Sam takes a nap in my lap while Maggie climbs the rock wall with other kids her age and some even older. She swings for a while until she's invited to join a game of Hopscotch. She's breathless and happy when she runs over to my bench and sits next to me.

"Can I come back for Halloween?" she asks. "Those girls were telling me about the big party and haunted atrium from last year. And I didn't know there's a water park over there. Why didn't you invite me for sleepovers sooner? I didn't even know you had all this…stuff!"

"Of course you can come back for the Halloween party. I'll talk to your parents when they get back."

"And next summer?"

"You can sleep over anytime you want to," I say. "Well, not school nights, but you know what I mean."

She blasts me with the smile she usually saves for Edward and throws herself into my arms. Sam squirms between us and licks both of our chins. Maggie giggles. She reaches for Sam's leash and gives the area a last glance. "I'm kind of tired," she says. "Can we play inside for a while?"

"Sure."

She pulls a deck of UNO cards from her little backpack back at my place and whoops me almost every time we play. Eventually she gets tired of that, too, and says she's ready for dinner.

"Okay," I say, glancing at the time on my phone. "What'll be? We have an excellent hamburger place downstairs." She shakes her head. "Pizza?" Another shake. "McDonald's?" She smiles and shakes her head again.

"Ice cream," she says.

"Ice cream," I repeat. She nods. "You want me to let you have ice cream for dinner."

Another nod.

I sigh. A deal is a deal. I guess I'll have to be more specific in the future.

"Okay," I say. "But we're having pizza for dessert."

She nods once. "Deal."

She gives Sam her favorite toy and blanket when we have to leave her in the kennel. Maggie frowns and tells the puppy not to be sad, but Sam whines a little anyway until we've closed the door of the apartment.

Maggie pushes the elevator button for the ground floor and orders her own ice cream at the shop downstairs. I'm not sure when she got so big and so grown up. I only know I missed it.

We snag a table by the window and settle in with our cones and bottles of water. Maggie smears chocolate ice cream across the tip of her nose without even realizing it and keeps eating. Her natural curiosity is fully engaged, so she doesn't notice my phone in the air or the picture I take of her profile.

I send it to Edward via text.

His response is immediate.

_Not sure who I'm more jealous of. Her or you._

My breath catches, and I stare at his words, let them cover me. I swallow a bite of blackberry ice cream to cool off and try to think of a way to answer him, but I don't know what to say.

Maggie finishes her scoop and leans forward. "I'm ready for dessert now," she says with a cream-stained grin.

We walk a few doors down to Elemento's Pizza and grab our pie to-go. There's a new episode of Scooby-Doo airing on Boomerang tonight that Maggie doesn't want to miss.

She falls asleep on the couch, but I carry her to the daybed in my spare bedroom so she'll be more comfortable. Sam whines a little at the door, so I take her down for a quick walk. She takes care of her business quickly and tugs at the leash to go back inside. It's Maggie she wants, now, so I slip her between the fuzzy blankets and into my niece's arms.

Edward and I text back and forth until one or both of us falls asleep. My phone is still in my hand when Maggie wakes me up with a whisper soft enough to make me jump.

"Sorry," she says. "We got scared."

I blink and sit up. "That's okay. Do you need anything? Maybe some water?"

"Can we sleep with you?" She stares down at Sam in her arms and mumbles the request.

"Um…sure?"

She sets Sam on the bed first and then climbs up behind her. The puppy settles in a ball, against my side, and Maggie snuggles in on the other side of her. They both close their eyes and exhale. I lift my phone to check that I've set an alarm for 8. Edward already said he'd be here at 9 to pick up Maggie and Sam. His parents will be back from Little Rock and they're taking the girls for tomorrow night.

There's one unread text from him that must have been sent after I dozed off.

_See you in a few hours. _

And he's right on time this week with a tray of coffees in his hand when I open the door seconds after he knocks.

"Good morning," he says.

"Hey." I roll my eyes playfully at his shirt. "Maggie, some guy in a funcle t-shirt is asking for you," I call over my shoulder.

We hear her giggles before she turns the corner. "Ah, coffee," she says, closing her eyes and inhaling.

Edward cuts his eyes to me and nods. "One for you, one for Aunt Bella, one for me, and a puppuccino for Sam."

Maggie takes the two smallest cups and heads for the kitchen. "Come on, Sam. Coffee-time."

Edward's grin twists once they're out of sight. "Hers is really just steamed milk with a shot of vanilla and a shot of caramel that she likes to call coffee to feel more grown up. Sam's is whipped cream. And a skinny mocha for you."

"Thanks." I take it from him and sip it to avoid looking at him. Then my guilt is too much and I add a quiet, "Sorry."

He laughs and shakes his head. "I knew it was you."

"Well, that was before…"

His eyebrows raise and he holds up a finger. "Technically, it was after."

My cheeks heat and I pull my lip between my teeth. He's right. It was _the _morning after.

"Well, clearly, they still trust you with Maggie."

"Clearly."

Sam comes back first, with traces of whipped cream on her snout and above her eyebrow. She walks straight to Edward and leans her whole body against his leg. He hands over the tray and crouches down to her level. She pushes her head into his chest, nearly knocking him over.

"You're ready, huh?" he asks.

Maggie joins us next, with her bag slung over one shoulder and Sam's on the other. She sips her "coffee" and looks up at me. "Thanks for the sleepover," she says.

"I had fun," I say, grinning from ear-to-ear, because she's looking at me the way she normally looks at Edward.

"I wish you could come with us," she grins and switches her gaze to the funcle. "She could come, right?"

Edward's mouth drops open and he looks to me for help.

"Oh, that's okay," I say. "We'll have another sleepover soon."

"You could…" Edward says.

"Um." I chew the inside of my cheek until I work up the courage to finish, "Where are you going?"

"Shelby Farms," Maggie says. "We take Sam to see her sister every Saturday."

"Her sister?" I ask.

"Come with us," Edward says with a smile. "You'll see."

"Are you sure?" I ask. "I mean, I know it's your time with her. It's y'all's thing."

"Bella," Edward takes a step before catching himself. He stops abruptly, but grins. "She's _our_ niece."

I swallow, nod, and point over my shoulder. "Let me grab a hoodie."

"Take your time," he says.

Maggie follows me to my room and watches me rummage through a pile of clean clothes on the chair in the corner of my room.

"Why don't you put your clothes away?" she asks.

"There was Netflix to be watched. I'll get around to it," I say.

"Oh. Mommy washes all my clothes, but she lets me put them away. I get money for chores."

"Like taking care of Sam?" I ask.

"No, she's mine. I do that for free."

"That's good. You're very good with her."

"I love her." She shrugs. "I sweep the kitchen on Sundays and Tuesdays and help unload the dishwasher sometimes. I get $6 a week since I'm 6 years old."

"That's how my mom and dad set our allowances, too." I finally find the right hoodie and throw it over my arm. "Let's go."

Edward hands me his coffee and picks up Sam's kennel. Maggie gets the bags settled and holds Sam's leash with one hand and her coffee with the other.

"Are we ready, ladies?" Edward asks.

Maggie nods and follows him out of my apartment. I catch all the elevator buttons with my elbows, and the four of us get some strange looks on our way out. Edward leads us toward the parking lot instead of the normal Uber pickup spot out front. He stops at an ancient red Volvo and shoves a key into the trunk lock. He puts the kennel in first and then takes the bags from Maggie. She walks around to the passenger side rear door and waits. Once Edward has everything settled, he unlocks the car. Sam jumps into the back and settles on the floor. Maggie climbs into a booster seat and buckles her seatbelt. She flips a cup holder open from the side of her seat and puts her cup in it.

I get into the front seat and fasten my seatbelt before I can talk myself out of this. It's _couple-y_. Even if we do share a niece.

But Edward's light cologne and fancy soap keep me from exiting the car once he's sitting next to me.

He catches me staring and grins as he starts the engine. "What?"

"I didn't know you had a car," I say.

"I don't have to use it much." He hands his phone over his shoulder to Maggie in the backseat. "Are we ready?" he asks her.

She takes it and nods. "Ready." She taps his phone and the car stereo blasts a sugary-sweet pop song I've never heard.

"Disney radio," Edward says as we begin our trip.

Maggie sings along with every song, and Edward joins her on a couple of them. I sip my coffee and watch the houses go by until there's nothing but green on either side of us. There's a fair bit of Saturday morning traffic and cars are lined up waiting to turn and enter.

"Look," Maggie says to Sam, pointing past her and out the window. "The bison."

"I haven't been here in years," I say. "Jake and I used to come to Starry Nights every December, but I don't think I've been since…"

"Who's Jake?" Maggie asks.

The smile never slips from Edward's lips, but a tiny muscle ticking away in his jaw gives him away.

"Just an old friend," I say.

"You're not friends anymore?"

I cringe and wish I'd never opened this can of worms. Six year olds are so damn nosey. "Sure, we're still friends. He's getting married this Christmas."

"Oh," she says. "Okay."

Then she's back to talking about the bison and the one time Garrett brought her here to ride horses. The tension fades from Edward's shoulders and he asks Maggie occasional questions when he can get a word in.

He parks in a small lot in an unrecognizable section of the park. There are dogs and their humans at play.

"There's Rosie!" Maggie waves frantically. "There's Rosie and Ruth, Sam."

A tall blonde woman with a puppy at her feet waves back. "It that Rosie from the bar?" I ask.

Edward nods and opens his car door. I follow him out and we wait for Maggie to help Sam from the car. "She and Emmett were Sam's foster family before I got her for Maggie. He's a vet tech and some douche left a box of puppies under an overpass. Some lady found them and took them to the clinic where he works. There were 6. Only 4 survived. They had to be bottle fed for weeks." He watches Maggie and Sam pick up the pace and run to meet Rosie and Ruth. "Maggie heard me talking about it to Katie and asked if she could help feed the puppies."

"Stop," I say. "Ugh. I was so mad at you for giving her a puppy and now I just want to kiss you for it."

He glances over and puckers his lips.

"Maggie," I say.

He laughs and shakes his head. "Had to try."

"Raincheck."

"Deal. Anyway, Maggie got so attached to Sam, in particular, and Sam to her. I asked Garrett and Katie, and the rest is…" He waves an arm in our niece's direction.

"What happened to the other 2 puppies?" I ask.

"They went to good homes, with people Rosie and Emmett are friends with."

"Well, that's a mostly happy ending."

"It is."

Rosie is crouched down, loving Ruth and Sam, when we catch up to them. "Morning," she says.

"Hey Rosie, this is my aunt Bella," Maggie says. "We had a sleepover last night."

"That sounds like fun, Mags," Rosie says. She straightens and holds out a hand to shake mine. Tattoos curl out of her shirt sleeves and stretch to her knuckles, but her grip is easy and her skin is soft against mine. "Hi, Bella. I'm Rosie." She looks from me to Edward and grins.

She recognizes me, either by face from the night I couldn't stay away from Edward any longer or by Edward and something he's said about me. Maybe both. She sizes the distance between us and the way we're deliberately keeping it and gives a quick nod of understanding.

"Where's Emmett?" Maggie asks.

"It's his turn to work this weekend, but he'll be here next time."

Sam's sister welcomes me into their little fold by attacking my shoelaces. Rosie scolds her and holds out a small blue ball. The puppy's ears perk and she prowls away from me. Sam pounces on her before she gets to Rosie.

That's how most of the morning goes, with occasional water breaks for the pups and us. After a while, Rosie's phone beeps from her pocket. She frowns. "That's my alarm. We have to go. I've got to work this afternoon."

"We should get going, too," Edward says. "It's almost lunchtime, and Gramma is picking up gyros on their way into town."

"Those are my favorite," Maggie says. "I'll get Sam's bag."

"You could come, too," Edward says as we watch her go.

"To lunch at your parents'?"

He nods. "Sure. Why not?"

"How would we explain that, Edward?"

He takes a step forward and breaks the invisible barrier that went up between us when we stepped out of his car. "We could tell them we're dating," he says.

My mouth drops open, and he backs off. "I…"

"Never mind," he says.

"It's just a little soon," I finally manage.

"Is it?"

"Maybe too soon to involve our families."

Maggie and Rosie rescue me by choosing that moment to rejoin us. Edward leans over during the hustle and bustle of making our way back to his car and getting the girls loaded and ready to go. "There's no rush," he says.

But he's still quieter than usual during the drive back to Crosstown, and Maggie sings alone while Sam sleeps at her feet.

Edward stops at the front entrance of my building and puts the car in park.

"Thanks for inviting me," I say to both of them.

"I'm so happy you came," Maggie says. "Don't forget the Halloween party, okay?"

"I won't," I promise. I linger for an extra moment, and then add an awkward "bye" on my way out of the car.

"Bye, Bella." Edward grins and waves. Maggie's watching, but I catch the wink he gives me before I close the door.

"Bye!" Maggie waves with both hands until they're out of sight.


	5. November

**_November_**

"So…who's the guy?" Lauren drawls, pausing her work to look up at me and grin.

I focus on the leaf she's painting onto my thumbnail. "What guy?"

She dips a brush in brown polish and laughs. "My shop is right here in the atrium, Bella. I see everything that goes on around here."

I sigh. "His name is Edward."

She nods. "That fits." She shoots me a sly smile. "He really nails that nerdy musician with no clue how cute he is vibe."

I laugh a little. "Yeah. He does."

Her smile changes and her mouth drops open. "You're blushing."

I raise my free hand to my cheek and direct my attention back to her work. "He's my niece's uncle."

"Explain."

"He's my sister-in-law's younger brother."

"Keeping it in the family." Her evil grin is back.

"Ugh." I drop my head and shake it. "See? The jokes write themselves."

"This is maybe a 2 on the scandalous scale."

"You think so?"

She shrugs. "I have a baby brother. I mean, he's 21, but he's _my _baby brother. I just want him to be happy. And look at the perks. Your families already know each other and are _obviously _compatible." She wiggles her eyebrows.

"Too compatible. We're all having Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house tomorrow. I keep trying to picture how that's going to go, and every time it ends with me and Edward making out in their mudroom."

She stops to throw her head back and laugh. "Girl, you're just as smitten as he is. Good luck getting through tomorrow unnoticed."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

She finishes and lifts my hand to examine her work, perfect burnt orange nails with the leaf on one thumb and an already dried turkey on the other. "Well?"

"They're perfect."

I have to stick around long enough for the second hand to dry, but her next appointment shows up a few minutes early so I'm off the hook on the Edward talk. For now.

"Let's have lunch sometime next week," she calls as I walk out.

The decorations in the building were switched to a general fall theme the morning after Halloween. I inhale the scented pinecones and silk leaves stuffed in tin pumpkins scattered throughout the atrium. By this time next week, they'll be packed into storage by Jessica and she'll have a winter wonderland where I'm standing.

The rest of my afternoon is spent slicing apples and hand carving leaves out of dough for the apple butter tart I'm taking to Mom and Dad's tomorrow. Ang and Ben left for South Carolina days ago to spend the holiday with his family. Edward picked up Rosie's shift at Earnestine and Hazel's so she and Emmett could leave for Knoxville this morning. And Beer on Broad is cancelled due to the holiday.

It's me, Netflix, and wine on this rare day off. I wipe out an entire bottle and have hummus and sliced bell peppers for dinner instead of cooking a meal. Edward and I text occasionally, and I'm still awake at midnight when he finally leaves the bar. I haven't seen him since the weekend, and that's three days too many.

_Come over _

Minutes tick by with no answer, and I begin to think he must've gone straight to his apartment without checking his texts. I've almost given up and talked myself into going to bed alone when there's a familiar soft pattern of knocks on my door.

He's leaning on the frame, with windblown hair raging around dark eyes and blood red lips that spread into a tired grin when I open the door.

I inhale the city from his skin and wrap my arms around him. The inside of his jacket is warm and so is his mouth, whiskey-laced and still smiling. He walks me backwards, closes the door with his foot, and heads for my room. I undress him along the way, and all that's left are his pants and shoes when my knees hit the back of my bed.

I teeter a little, but stand my ground. Instead of letting him undress me, I ease down onto my knees at his feet and stare at the button of his jeans. It's been a while since I've done this, but he tastes so good tonight. I want it all.

"Take your shirt off," he says. He watches and licks his lips at the sight of my tits. "Don't," he says when I reach behind me to unhook my bra. "Leave it on." He brushes the side of my head with his fingers in my hair and watches me unzip his pants and pull them down to his knees.

I've been with him dozens of times now but never taken the time to examine his cock at this level. Now isn't the right time to start. I press my tongue flat against the head and add my lips.

"Fuck," he whispers above me. His grip on my hair tightens but he doesn't move. I tilt my head and raise up on my knees so he can watch. He lets me get a few good strokes in and waits until my hands grip the back of his thighs.

Then he moves, slowly fucking my mouth. I keep my eyes closed, focus on the ache between my legs, and let him. His breath quickens and his legs tense. "Bella…" I pull him forward instead of stopping. His other hand buries in my tangled hair a second before he comes.

His breath is ragged when he pulls me to my feet and kisses me, tasting himself on my tongue. He lifts my body, pressing my chest to his and unhooking my bra. He tosses it across the room, eases me back onto my bed, and covers me with his body.

Soft fingers cradle my jaw then slide down to unbutton my jeans. There's some kicking and laughing on both of our parts, and our limbs clash as we try to free ourselves from our pants. He sighs and lowers his forehead to mine when we're finally skin to skin.

He's hard again, between my legs and nudging them wider apart with his hips. I kiss him to avoid the way he's looking at me. The way it makes my breath catch and my heart pound. I move with him and take him inside, a little at first – then more with each stroke.

Our kisses slow and he takes his time, easy grinding and finding my hands with his and tangling our fingers together. I push against him and he wraps an arm behind my waist and rolls. I sit up and move, pulling our tangled fingers up with me sliding over my belly and up to my nipples.

His teeth tug at his bottom lip as he watches me and runs his thumbs over my skin.

When he can't stand the distance anymore, he sits up and presses his chest to mine. I squirm above him, rocking and raising. His tongue touches my lips and I pull him in that way, too.

I go first, and he holds out long enough to put me on my back and bury his dick to the hilt. He shudders through his orgasm, panting against my mouth then lowers his weight to my body and his forearms just long enough to recover.

He eventually settles beside me and loosens the bedding enough for us to slip between the sheets. I rest my head on his chest and listen to the soft thump of his heart lull me into sleep.

"Bella," he whispers, hours later. When I open my eyes, he's already dressed and crouched by my bed with his jacket in hand. "I've got to go home to shower and change. Do you have an alarm set?" I nod and blink lazily at him. He leans forward, brushes his lips across my cheek, and says, "I'll see you in a little while."

I wake up with my face buried in the pillow he sleeps on when he stays over, inhaling memories and Edward. A slow smile spreads and my insides warm.

Until I remember what day it is and Edward's parting words.

A long, hot shower does little to help take the edge off. I dry and straighten my hair standing in the hall with the cords stretched from the bathroom so I can watch the parade on the television in my room. I opt for jeans since every meal at my parents' house is casual and only family will be there.

I cringe at my reflection in the mirror and swipe brown eyeshadow across my lid. It complements the burnt orange sweater I've matched with my nail art.

Family.

I love mine, but whatever this thing is with Edward would be much less complicated if our families weren't already so intertwined. No one, much less Jake, has ever looked at me the way Edward did last night.

I can't get his face out of my head during the Lyft ride to my parents' house. It's the first to greet me on arrival. Edward and Maggie have Sam outside on a leash walking her in front of the neighbor's house.

Maggie waves as soon as she spots me. Edward turns and grins.

"Hey," he calls. "Need any help?"

"I'm good," I say, lifting the tart in its carrier. "Be right back."

I sneak in quietly past my dad and Carlisle in the parlor and make my way straight to the kitchen.

"Hey," Katie says. "Happy Thanksgiving!" She comes around the small island in the middle of the room and puts an arm around me. "Wine?"

"Not yet," I say. "I thought I might go with Maggie to walk Sam."

Her eyes narrow. "I thought she went with Edward."

"They're out front."

"Okay." She takes the tart and waves me out of the kitchen. "Go before our moms come back from sneaking a joint in the garage."

My mouth drops open. "Are you serious?"

"Is this my joking face?" She points to her wry smile.

"Sorry," I say.

"Scoot."

Edward and Maggie are still waiting, and Sam is tugging at her leash, ready to go. We keep a Maggie-sized distance between us even though she and Sam are a few steps ahead of us.

He's ditched the funcle t-shirt for a green oxford button up today. Maggie chatters about school and her new best friend Benjamin and how he has a cat instead of a dog. She lets it slip that Katie and Garrett are taking her to Disney World then begs us not to mention that we know since our siblings plan to tell everyone during lunch. We cross our hearts and carry on.

I've never wanted to reach out and take someone's hand this much in my life. Edward eyes mine just as hard.

Sam finally squats and pees before we reach the corner.

Maggie turns us around and walks between me and Edward to take the lead again on the way back. We follow in a silence that makes me ache because there are a million things I could say to him right now, but our niece is a few feet away.

It gets worse when we get back to the house. The rest of the family is gathered and waiting to enter the dining room. My place card is between Edward's and Katie's, and he pulls out my chair for me much to his mother's approving nod from across the table.

Maggie exhales in relief when Garrett finally announces they'll be spending Christmas in the Sunshine State with Disney princesses instead of us. We all agree to a family dinner and gift exchange the weekend prior to the holiday. Edward's parents offer to host so that Garrett and Katie won't have to worry about cooking the night before they leave.

Eventually the planning is settled and different conversations break out around the table. Edward and I don't talk, but our thighs touch under the table and occasionally his fingers brush mine when we're passing dishes back and forth to each other. Each time, he flashes me a grin and looks away. I can't seem to stop smiling either.

Until Katie turns in her seat and yanks me out of memories of last night and back to reality. "Oh, that reminds me, Bella. Paul has a cousin named Alec who's moving to town after the first of the year. He just landed a job in the legal department at Auto Zone Corporate and he's single."

"Oh, um." Edward tenses in his seat next to me, and I stare down at my plate to avoid looking at him. "I don't really date," I say. "Things have been hectic at work, and there's no sign of it easing up anytime soon." I lift my glass and take a long pull of wine to wet my dry mouth.

"Too bad," she says. "He's handsome. Anyway, he's looking for a place to live and I mentioned Crosstown and how much you love it. Are there openings?"

"I think so," I say. "I have one of Eric's business cards in my purse. He's the person to talk to."

"Great," she says. "I'll pass the info to Paul."

No one else seems to have noticed the conversation since they're so deep in a dozen different ones around the table. But Edward's gone silent and straightened in his seat. Every time I try to catch his eye, he stares down at his plate instead.

"Bella, the tart you brought looks absolutely amazing," Esme says, addressing me from her seat across from Edward's. "It's almost too pretty to eat. Did it take you long to make?"

"It wasn't bad," I say. "I spread it out over the course of the day and worked some from home."

Edward eats in silence, finishes before the rest of us, and excuses himself from the table mumbling something about a refill.

Maggie touches Esme's arm, and I'm forgotten instantly. I use the chance to slip away from the table and head for the hall. I find Edward in the kitchen leaning against the counter next to the sink. He glances up at me then studies the now full glass of tea in his hand.

"You know," he finally says. "For a second, I thought you might just say it and tell them we've been seeing each other. Or maybe at least admitted to dating _someone_, but instead you pretended we don't even exist."

"I panicked. Your mom was sitting right across from me."

"And I'm sitting next to your father, dying to hold your hand." He shakes his head and pushes off from the counter. "I think we're in two different places, Bella. I'm not sure I can do this anymore."

He purposefully turns his body sideways to keep from touching me as he passes me on his way back to our family.

"Edward," I say to his back.

He pauses at the kitchen door, but only for a moment.

* * *

**A/N – Y'all don't freak out on me now. There's enough of that going on in the real world. Lord knows my anxiety is through the roof right now, but there's no reason to let this little bump stress you out. Trust the funcle. He knows what he's doing. **


	6. December

_**December**_

Jake left with a bang. There was some screaming and a few things were thrown at his head.

Edward…

Edward disappears.

It's a slow disappearance. At first, he's too busy to see me. He's picking up piano gigs, right and left and still keeping on with his jobs, too.

And it's not like my schedule is forgiving this time of year. Crosstown is a blur of activity.

So Edward and I fade to texts, and those become fewer and farther between. It's hard not to ask about him every time I see Katie and Garrett. Which is a lot. The holiday season is busting their asses, too. Business is good all around, and I have the freedom to help some with Maggie while school's out.

There are concerts and parties every few days, and Maggie loves dressing up. She's made friends with some of my neighbors' children and sleepovers are _our_ thingnow. She knows all the shop and restaurant owners in the building, and she's even managed to meet my eye doctor, whose office is on the main floor.

Ang takes up every other spare minute of my free time in the week running up to the holiday. She's an obsessive gift giver and we hit at least a dozen shops and boutiques around town before ending up across the city at Wolfchase Mall to pick up a Simon gift card for her teenage niece. Parking is a nightmare and we end up at the very back of the lot closer to the Barnes and Noble store than the mall behind it.

We hit it first on a whim and end up with hot coffees and bags full of books for ourselves after an hour lost in the shelves. We lock them up in her trunk and brace ourselves after a glance at the Cheesecake Factory sign. There are people and cars everywhere.

The inside of the mall is worse.

"Next year, we're doing this in November," I say.

She nods. "All I need is the card. In and out, I swear."

We push through the crowds of people and make our way to the guest services desk. There's a short line, nothing compared to the nearby line for Santa that winds and wraps around the throne and the decorated Christmas trees.

Maggie's familiar laugh carries from the middle of the crowd. I have to crane my neck, but finally spot her in line with Garrett, Katie, and Edward. He looks up and stares.

"Uh oh," Ang says.

Maggie's next to notice me. She waves and calls my name. Garrett and Katie look around.

"Fuck," I whisper.

"Go say hi." Ang bumps my shoulder with hers to give me a nudge. "I'll get the card and then come to your rescue."

"Okay." I give her a look. "You'd better."

"Go." She tilts her head.

A couple of people give me the stink eye when I duck under the red velvet rope stanchions and break in line. "Sorry," I say, scooting between kids and harried mothers. "That's my niece. I just want to say hi."

They let me through, and Maggie throws her arms around me when I finally get to her. "Hey," she says. "What are you doing here?"

"Last minute shopping." I point to Ang and she waves.

Katie hugs me and laughs. "We're doing some of that, too, but Maggie wanted to drop off her Christmas list and let Santa know we'll be in Orlando on Christmas Eve."

Maggie vibrates and squeals a little. "Less than a week, now," she says. "We'll be on a plane in a few days."

Edward keeps his distance with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the floor.

"I know," I say to Maggie. "I'm excited for you." So excited that I may have gone a little overboard with her Christmas gifts this year.

"I have to leave Sam," she says, frowning for the first time. "I'm sad about that, but Nana and Poppa are going to keep her and Edward promised he'll visit her and still take her to see Ruth while I'm gone."

He grins at her. "Sam is going to be just fine," he promises.

Ang keeps her word and shows up as the line shifts and Maggie moves closer to the elf running the camera and the helper directing children. "I'd better go," I say. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Garrett says.

Edward waves, and the effort it takes to turn and leave is heavy. Ang locks her arm with mine and helps me along.

"That was brutal," she says. "The two of you and your silly longing looks when the other isn't paying attention."

"I…"

Can't even deny it.

We spend the rest of the day at her apartment, downing wine and wrapping gifts. She watches me wrap a leather bound composition notebook in green tissue paper and place it in a box.

"Can you hand me the roll with the red trucks?" I ask.

She hands it to me, but doesn't release her end. "Edward's?"

I nod and fold the paper, stopping to tape and trim when needed. "Yeah."

"Are you going to talk to him?"

"I'm not sure he wants me to," I say. "Look at what happened today." I shake my head. "He's probably done with my shit."

"What should he have said Bella?" she asks with a shrug. "What could he have said in front of your family that would have been okay?"

I add a green bow to match the trees in the back of the red trucks on the paper and toss his gift onto the couch behind me.

"What if they find out and the whole family freaks out?" I ask.

"So what if they do."

"There are so many ways this could end badly."

"Is _this _really how you want it to end?"

I shake my head and reach for Maggie's stuff. The polka dotted mint green luggage still has the tags on, so I take out some of my frustration tearing them off. A white M is embroidered on each piece and the suitcase has wheels and a retractable handle. I stuff the carryon tote with a matching neck pillow, crayons, coloring books, some travel games, and an already wrapped set of wireless headphones.

When it's full, I place it inside the suitcase and zip both. Ang helps me center the suitcase on a sheet of red cellophane and pull it up even to twist it at the top of the suitcase. There's a stuffed dog for the trip and a card with a Disney gift card, too, but I'm going to set them next to big gift and make Maggie sweat it out.

It's already dark outside by the time we finish, so we order a pizza and watch Christmas movies until Ben finally makes it home from work. I leave all of my gifts in their apartment since they're giving me a ride to Edward's parents' house tomorrow anyway.

She hugs me in the hall before I go. "For what it's worth, I don't think your families will freak out. Not in a bad way, anyway."

I smile and shake my head, step away from her and into the elevator, and reach for the button for my floor. "I hope you're right," I say, a moment before the doors slide closed.

I go to bed alone. Again. And wake up the same way.

Which is a damn shame, because Edward could be lying next to me if things weren't so up in the air.

Ang and Ben are quiet on the ride across town, or maybe it's me. My leg bounces the entire trip and I've chewed the inside of my cheek bare by the time we pull onto the Cullens' street. Their house is outlined in white twinkle lights, and a matching light-up set of reindeer give the yard a holiday touch. Evergreen wreathes hang from every window and on the front door.

Ben parks on the street to avoid the driveway trap. He and Ang help me carry my load of gifts to the porch. I ring the bell and my dad opens the door right away. "Here," he says, taking Maggie's wrapped suitcase from my arms. "Let me help."

The Christmas tree is only a few feet away in the family room. We drop everything off there, and Ang stops on her way out. "Good luck," she whispers.

"Thanks." I close the door behind them and turn to my father. "Where is everyone?" I ask.

"All over the place," he says. "Your mother ran me out of the kitchen a few minutes ago. It's been a while since I've seen Maggie, so I'm not sure where she is."

His phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls it out to examine the screen. "Excuse me, honey," he says. "We've got a big install today, so I need to take this…" He slips outside and closes the door for privacy.

I follow the sound of voices to the other side of the house and try to keep an eye out for Edward in the process.

I hear him before I see him. His soft laughter is intoxicating. I turn a corner and find him in the hall, completely engrossed in a girl I've never seen whose short black hair stands spiked on end in every direction.

"Sorry," I say, halting mid-step and looking between them. "I didn't mean to…"

Edward turns to look at me, and the corner of his mouth turns up in a tense smile. "Hey," he says.

"Hey."

"This is Alice," he says. He points to a room down the hall at the same time a loud crack fills the air. "Her husband Jasper is losing a game of pool to my father at the moment. We were roommates in college."

"Oh." I take a step forward and hold out my hand. "Nice to meet you," I say.

She shakes it and looks at Edward. "Neither of us could get enough time off to go home for Christmas this year, so the Cullens are letting us crash."

"Where's home?" I ask.

"Mississippi for me, Texas for Jasper."

"That must be hard."

She shrugs. "We're getting used it."

Sam comes running toward us from the kitchen with Maggie right on her heels. "Bellaaaaaaa," she says as she passes me. "I'll be in Florida tomorrowwwww." She giggles and disappears on the stairs.

"They're going to Disney for Christmas," Edward explains.

Alice nods. "Wish I was."

I nod. "Same." Now that I know she belongs to someone else I'm comfortable walking away, for now. "Have you seen Garrett?" I ask.

Edward shakes his head. "Not for a while. I think he's in the kitchen, helping with dinner."

"Thanks," I say. My hand twitches at my side, and I have to fight the instinct to reach for him.

It's been a while.

He stares at my lips and his eyes glaze. He misses me, too. My arm brushes his as I pass him. The contact high is short lived and dissipates once his voice fades and he's out of sight. I pause right inside the kitchen and flatten my back against the wall long enough to close my eyes and take a few deep breaths.

"There you are," my mother says, catching my forearm and dragging me into the melee around the island in Esme's kitchen. She pours a glass of red wine and hands it to me.

Garrett's bent over inspecting the contents of the stove. He looks over his shoulder. "Just a few more minutes and we'll be good, Es," he says to Edward's mom. Then he spots me. "Hey, Sis. Merry Christmas."

"Happy Disney to you," I return with my glass in the air.

"Don't be salty," he says.

"I'm tempted to tag along."

"Come on. The more, the merrier."

"Maybe next time."

Esme stops to hug me on her way out of the room. "Merry Christmas, Bella," she says.

I close my eyes. "Merry Christmas." I've managed a smile by the time she pulls away. "The house looks amazing."

She smiles. "Thank you."

Maggie and Sam thump down the stairs and back into our paths. Garrett points to the door. "Hey, Mags…It might be a good idea to keep Sam out of the kitchen for a few minutes."

"Let's round up the others," I say to her.

She leans in closer. "PopPop's in the backyard with a cigar," she says. "I saw him from the window upstairs."

"Well, let's go find him before your grandma does."

Dad meets us at the backdoor, and I shame him with a frown. "Having your after-dinner cigar before dinner?"

"Busted," he says. "I'm trying, okay?"

"It's okay," Maggie says, slipping her hand into his. "You'll get it."

I follow them back through the house and we join the rest of the family in the game room. Carlisle and a guy with short white-blond hair are down to the end of their game.

"Go easy on him, Jasper," Alice says with a smile.

Edward shakes his head and watches his father sink the eight and end the game with a flourish. "No mercy," he says.

Garrett appears at the door and clears his throat. "It's time," he says.

"Excellent," Dad says. "I'm starving."

We file out and make our way to the dining room. A long table covered in a holiday-themed red table cloth is set to perfection with small bunches of holly arranged between a multitude of dishes.

Maggie makes a beeline for the buffet across the room. It's littered with pies and cakes and Christmas cookies.

"Dinner, first," Garrett says, catching her around her middle and lifting her into the air. He deposits her in a chair near the head of the table.

Edward's soft laughter is too much to ignore, so I turn and find him right behind me. He catches my gaze and shrugs. A sprig of mistletoe hangs a few inches above him from an eyehook in the top of the door frame.

I take a step forward until our chests touch.

He looks down at my lips and waits. Voices fade behind me when I wrap my arms around Edward's neck and kiss him. On the mouth. Our lips only touch for a few seconds, but that's all it takes to ease the ache of his absence.

And start the barrage of questions from both sides of the table.

Edward tucks his face into the side of my neck and hugs me close. "Well," he says. "That's one way to tell them…"

* * *

**A/N – And now we're caught up to where the oneshot ended in the compilation. :)**

**I have to agree with my lovely friend yogacat's last review: "Trust the Funcle needs to be a tshirt." I smiled and nodded when I read it. **

**I have two additional chapters of the continuation finished already, but I'm having a little trouble finding a happy headspace to work with right now, so we'll see what happens after those are posted. Wherever you are, I hope you and the ones you love are well and safe. **

**See you soon. xoxo**

**MSC**


	7. December, continued

**_Part Two - Edward_**

**_December_**

She laughs in my arms and squeezes. "Sorry," she whispers. "I couldn't resist."

"I'm not complaining."

"How long have you two been kissing?" Renee asks.

Katie lifts her wine glass, takes a quick sip, and says, "August."

Bella pulls away from me to face my sister. "What?"

Katie's brows raise. "Am I wrong?"

Bella reaches blindly for my hand and grips it tightly. I tug her closer until her back is resting against my chest. "No," she says. "How…?"

"Well, I wasn't sure until just now," Katie says. "But I knew something was going on when you let it slip that Edward gives Maggie coffee." She pauses to pull out a chair and sit at the table. "Then there was the baseball game. Y'all ignored each other so completely—a little _too _completely." She swallows and examines the tablecloth. "So I decided to see if I was right at Thanksgiving."

Garrett shakes his head. "Babe? You couldn't have given me a heads up?"

Katie laughs and shrugs. "Like I said, I wasn't sure."

"August," Mom says. "Wow."

"Is he your boyfriend?" Maggie asks. She's frozen, a few feet away, and staring at mine and Bella's hands locked together.

Bella's grip loosens enough for her to look over her shoulder at me. "Are you?" she asks.

I nod and stare at her lips too long for this company. "I am."

She smiles and turns back to Maggie. "Edward and I like each other. A lot."

A slow grin spreads across Maggie's face, and the squeal builds until she vibrates in place. "This is the best Christmas ever!"

"Well," Charlie says. "At least I won't have to run a background check on this one." He claps me on the shoulder on his way by and takes a seat at the table across from Katie. "I'm starving."

"Right," Mom says. "Dinner. I forgot." She laughs and waves everyone to the table. "Bella, you and Edward sit here." She points to the two chairs next to her place at the end opposite Dad's. "Please."

But Maggie isn't having it. "Grandma, I want to sit by them." And by that, she means between us so she can have us both.

"Okay," Mom says.

Bella brushes the side of her head against my chin and pulls our hands up to hug her waist. "Don't disappear like that again," she says. "It hurt."

I kiss her hair and pull her closer. "Me, too. I won't." It's not like staying away from her has been easy, but I want all or nothing with this woman. "Does this mean I can finally take you on a real date?" I whisper against her ear.

She laughs and pulls me to the table with her. "Yes," she says.

"Tomorrow," I push.

"Okay." Her smile falters a little, but she recovers by the end of Dad's rambling grace and squeezes my fingers behind Maggie's seat before we have to let go for the meal.

Alice can't wipe the "told you so" from her face and smirks every time our glances cross. She's been saying all along that Bella had to be the one to figure out her feelings for me. Otherwise, this was never going to work.

Maggie is in full-on countdown-to-Disney mode and only stops talking every three or so minutes to take quick bites of food. Then she launches right back into the schedule of their vacation plans, letting everyone know she'll be at the new _Star Wars_ park all day on Wednesday. She's memorized the list of restaurants they've decided to try at each park, and the way her little brain whirs and plans 24/7 still blows my mind sometimes.

She has my sister's intelligence and Garrett's personality. There'll be no stopping this kid.

Jasper and Alice thank my parents after dinner and excuse themselves when Maggie starts hinting that she's ready to exchange gifts. She's been eyeing the stuffed dog next to the tree since the moment she noticed it right after dinner.

"It was nice to finally meet you, Bella," Alice says with a little wave at the door. "Let's all hang out soon."

"I'd like that," Bella says.

She waits until the front door closes behind them and eases herself into my arms. I kiss her hair and steal a minute alone in the foyer before we join the rest of the family in the den.

Garrett watches Bella sit down next to me on the sofa with our thighs touching and our fingers twisted together and resting on her knee. She doesn't notice his stare since Maggie's shoving a box wrapped in shiny green paper and topped with a red-and-white bow into her free hand. The worry lines fade from his face when Bella smiles and takes the gift. He focuses on me long enough to nod once and share a wry grin.

Bella's is the only approval that really matters, but his is nice.

"Now," Maggie says, leaning down to pick up Sam so she can see too. "This one's from me, so you have to open it now."

Bella looks around the room to see if anyone objects. They're busy settling in for the "Great Gift Card Exchange," as Dad likes to call it.

"Pleeeease?" Maggie pokes out her bottom lip, and Bella caves.

She lets go of my hand, rips the paper from the box in long strips, and lets it fall to the floor at her feet. It takes a second for her to get the box open and push aside the red, white, and green tissue paper. She stops to read the white block print on the black cotton t-shirt.

**BAE **

**_Best Aunt Ever_**

"I love it!" Bella laughs and holds the shirt in the air so everyone can see it.

Maggie leans forward. "I found it all by myself on Amazon."

Bella leans forward, too, and pulls Maggie and Sam in for a lap hug. "Well, you did a great job," she says. "It's my most favorite present ever."

"Okay, little one," Charlie says to Maggie. "We've got a stack of presents over here with your name on them."

"And some for Sam, too," Dad says, pointing at a small pile of oddly shaped packages wrapped in dog-themed paper.

Maggie wiggles out of Bella's arms to hurry across the room. Bella watches her for a second, then runs her fingers over the raised letters on her new shirt.

"This is great," she says.

"It is," I agree, sliding an arm around her waist to get closer. "How am I supposed to compete with that?"

She looks up at me and grins. "You can't."

"Oh, it'll be tough," I say against her ear. "But I think I can keep up."

Her mouth drops open, and her eyes glaze over for a moment. Then she licks her lips and rests her forehead against my cheek. "We'll see."

Maggie's squeals catch our attention, and everyone else's, too. She holds a child-sized dress in one hand and an identical Sam-sized dress in the other. "Thanks, Grandma!" She doesn't wait for a response and dives for the stuffed dog that could double as Sam's smaller twin. It takes her a second to flip over the tag on the red felt collar, then she looks up at Bella and grins.

"You can take her with you to Florida and sleep with her when you're missing Sam," Bella says. "Don't forget the card." She points to a small red envelope on the floor at Maggie's feet. "And the one behind you is from me, too."

Maggie glances back, and her eyes go wide. "The big one?"

Bella nods, obviously pleased with herself and whatever's under that sparkly cellophane wrapping. Maggie skips the card and goes straight for the knotted bow at the top of the gift. Bella leans forward, unintentionally pulling me with her, and we wait while Maggie peels back the layers to expose a fancy monogrammed rolling suitcase in her favorite shade of green.

"Ahhhhh," Maggie breathes. "Iloveitsomuch…"

"Open it," Bella says.

"There's more?!" Maggie shoves the wrapping behind her and lays the case flat on the ground so she can unzip it. She holds a matching bag in the air and freezes when she realizes it's full too. She peels back the zipper and pulls out games and crayons and a small box wrapped in candy cane-striped paper. "What's this?" she asks, already ripping the paper away.

Her mouth drops open.

"What is it?" Charlie asks from across the room.

"Earbuds," Maggie says, running back across the room to hug Bella again.

"I hope you have the best time on your trip," Bella says into Maggie's hair. "And don't forget the card."

Maggie laughs and skips away. "I won't."

Bella catches Katie's attention and points, mouthing the words "There's a Disney gift card in there."

Katie gives her a thumbs up, and Maggie reaches for the next gift with her name on it from the pile at Dad's feet. She unwraps a fancy karaoke machine and a couple of new swimsuits for Florida before taking a quick break to open a box of organic peanut butter treats for Sam.

When she gets to my gift, she read the tags and looks up at me with a tiny grin playing at her lips. It's a pretty big box. It had to be to hide what's inside. There's no disguising the shape of a skateboard. Maggie huffs when she finds the box sealed with tape at every edge. "Edward," she groans.

"Sorry." I shrug and lean forward. Bella comes with me, and her grip on my hand tightens.

"What is it?" she whispers, watching her dad lean over to cut the packing tape with a pocket knife.

I let Maggie answer her a few moments later. "Oh, my goodness… It's a panda board!" She lifts the red skateboard into the air to examine the decorated underside of the bamboo deck. Then she turns it over and rests her fingers on her printed name. "You're going to teach me, right?" she asks me.

I nod. "As soon as it warms up a little."

Maggie moves on to the next huge box with her name on it, and Bella and I sit back to watch.

Bella snuggles into my side with my arm wrapped around her and my hand on her leg, like a couple—a real couple—right here in front of everyone. And they're all so caught up in the moment and Maggie's excitement that no one even notices until Dad starts passing around envelopes with our names on them.

Bella gets gift cards to the bookstore and Maggie's Pharm, as well as a small assortment of Crabtree Evelyn products from my parents. Renee and Charlie give me a gift certificate to Amro Music, which is perfect.

Maggie's still going across the room, so it's easy to take my gift to Bella from Dad so I can give it to her myself. She waits until I have my present from her in my lap.

"You go first," I say, nudging her a little with my arm.

She tears the paper away from the small box and looks up nervously before opening it. "Oh," she says, beaming. "I've seen these." She pulls one of the earrings out and holds it in the light. "They're made from driftwood from the river, right?"

I nod. "You stopped to stare at some similar to these the night of the auction." Today, she's wearing Christmas tree-shaped earrings. On Thanksgiving, there were leaf studs in her ears. And I've rarely seen her wear the same pair twice, so I took a chance and got her something a little more special than the Ugly Mug gift certificate I usually gift her. And I'm not the only one breaking tradition based on the physical gift in my lap.

"I love them," she says. "They're so cool." She glances down at my present. "Your turn." She watches me with her bottom lip pulled between her teeth and smiles when I pause to smell the worn leather cover before opening the music composition book. "I remember you used to play the piano all the time. You'd scribble notes on napkins and pieces of mail back when you were in school." She shrugs. "I thought maybe…"

I lean closer and brush my lips against hers. "It's perfect. Thank you."

Our bubble of privacy is popped when the last gift has been opened and there's nothing left around the tree but bright scraps of torn paper. People start standing and stretching and making their way back to the dining room and the variety of desserts on the buffet.

After cheesecake and pecan pie, Dad starts a pot of coffee and the everyone else wanders back to the family room. Bella and I linger in the kitchen after putting our dishes in the sink. Our shoulders touch, and our hands tangle between us.

"Can I take you home?" I ask, letting my lips brush her ear. "And stay?"

She pulls back to look at me. "I thought… You said tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, I want to take you out. Right now, I want to take you home."

She blinks and nods. "We should say goodbye to our parents and Maggie."

It takes for-fucking-ever to get out of my parents' house. We have nosey mothers, Maggie and Sam, and a swift but heartfelt apology from Katie about her earlier outburst of too much information. She spilled our guts before we could.

Honestly, I don't even care, because they don't need to know every little thing about us right now while we're figuring this out. They don't need to know the way I feel about her. Not yet.

Garrett helps us carry the gift boxes out to my car and waits while Bella and I shift and sort them into the trunk around the guitar case and music stands already in there. She turns to him first, and he lifts his arm to embrace her in a tight hug. "I'm going to miss this on Christmas Day," he says.

"Me, too. But I hope y'all have the best time."

"We will," he says. They step away from each other, and Garrett pulls me in next for quick hug and a shoulder pat. "Merry Christmas, man. Thanks for agreeing to check on Sam while we're gone."

"Happy to."

He walks backward across the yard and waves from the porch while Bella and I get settled and buckled in. An awkward silence stills the air in the car. She waits for Garrett to disappear inside and then turns to me.

"Hi." Her face is carefully blank, until I reach out to touch her cheek.

"Hey," I say.

"I had all these things I wanted to say to you, and now that I have you here…"

I lean forward and pause when our lips almost touch. "Can I kiss you first?" I grin and shrug. "It's been a while."

She nods, and the worry lines fade to happy cheeks and a wide grin. "Please."

She meets me halfway, and our lips press together, closed and then slightly parted. A sweet sigh escapes her, and her hand settles on my neck to pull me closer. It's sweet and chaste, even when her breathing changes and her tongue slips out to tease.

Her fingers twist in my hair, and she kisses me over and over. "I missed you," she says.

"That was kind of the plan," I say. "But that doesn't mean I liked it. I missed you, too."

"I guess we have a lot to talk about."

I start the car and pull away from the curb. "I've got time. The studio's closed until after the new year, except for the daily tours and gift shop stuff. The ghost tours are on pause, too. I agreed to cover a few shifts at the bar, but nothing for the next couple of days. How 'bout you?"

"Most of our events have wrapped up, too," she says. "We've got a visit from Santa the day before Christmas Eve and a wedding on New Year's Eve in the red atrium, but nothing I have to handle. Thank goodness. I'm ready for a break."

"When are you doing Christmas with your parents?"

"That afternoon. We can all sleep in this year."

"Us, too," I say.

"Are you done with your shopping?" she asks.

"Yes, but the wrapping's a different story." She laughs and twists our fingers together as the sun sets on Midtown before us. "Are you?"

"I still have to make a trip to Sweet Noshings tomorrow to pick up a few last-minute gifts for people around the building," she says. "Other than that, I'm done."

"We can do that now," I say. "It's only a few blocks out of the way."

"You don't mind?"

I hit the blinker and ease into the turn lane. "Not at all." Once I get her back to her place, I plan to keep her there for as long as possible. It's been a long few weeks without her.

I park in the garage behind The Square. Bella meets me at the back of the Volvo and slips her hand into mine. We cut between the buildings and skip the warm honeyed blues pouring from the piano bar on the corner on our way to the candy shop.

A blast of heated air welcomes us, and I hold the door for her and follow her inside. She stops to examine the collection of _Harry Potter_ sweets, then moves on to the wall of flavored popcorns. She grabs a bag of the Memphis Mix and tucks it under her arm. "Dad loves this stuff," she says. "And you wouldn't believe how hard he is to shop for."

"Have you met your brother?" Edward asks. "I never know what to get him."

"Welcome to my world." She laughs and catches her bottom lip with her teeth. "Oh, Marcus would love these," she says, lifting a box of assorted chocolate liqueurs to inspect the contents. "It pairs well with his other gifts."

"Which are?"

"A gift certificate for an hour-long deep tissue massage and a year's subscription to Netflix."

"Nice. How do I become your assistant?"

She leans up to kiss the skin next to my ear. "You can't be my boyfriend and my assistant."

"Boyfriend," I say, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer. "Definitely."

She melts a little and rests her head in the crook of my neck. "This is crazy," she says. "Not at all the way that I expected this day to end."

"Good crazy, right?"

"The best." We hug for a long moment, until the bell over the door jerks us back into motion.

Bella sticks the minis in the basket on her arm and adds some Jack Daniel's chocolate bars. She waits patiently while I measure out a pound of sour gummy worms for the candy jar in the recording booth at Sun.

We check out separately and then make the mistake of wandering over to the ice cream cooler. "Is it weird that I want a scoop of that wine-infused raspberry?" Bella asks. "I'm still full from dinner, and it's not like it's hot outside, but yeah. I want it."

"We'll take two," I tell the girl behind the case.

Bella takes her sugar cone in one hand and carries her brown paper bag full of gifts in the other. I get the door and hold it for her, and we walk back the way we came, eating ice cream and taking in the little pockets of people congregating along the way.

A family of five is crowded around one of the corn hole sets in the courtyard.

"There," I say, pointing past them at the bright blue swing hanging from an independent iron archway. Soft twinkle lights are intertwined along the chain holding the swing. "We can sit and finish these."

She sets the shopping bag next to the pavilion a few feet away and joins me on the cool wooden swing. I push off to give us a start, and we finish our cones in silence as we watch the middle child dominate the bean bags, destroying her siblings and parents.

"Okay," the mother finally says. "You win. Time for pizza."

They fall in line to make their way up the wooden staircase behind us. Eventually, the noise fades to distant traffic and the soft squeak of the swing in the breeze.

Bella finishes her cone first, balls her napkin in her fist, and shoves it in the pocket of her yellow fleece jacket. "I'm sorry," she says. "About Thanksgiving."

I look down at what's left of my ice cream. "It's okay."

"It wasn't about you. Ever."

I take a deep breath and ask what I should've when she brought him up months ago. "Was it about your ex? The getting married thing?"

She reaches for my hand. "Not really."

"I'm going to need you to explain that."

"I don't care that Jake's getting married. Really. Better her than me, for sure."

"I'm lost," I say.

"Jake was my last serious boyfriend." She pauses and frowns. "I guess, technically, he's the only serious boyfriend I've ever had, so it's been a while since I've been involved enough with anyone to involve my family. And we…" She waves her hand between us. "…have the added complication of sharing a family. Well, you know what I mean."

"They seemed to take it well."

"Better than I expected," she admits. "But I guess we still have to worry about what happens when… if…"

I sigh and lift her hand to hold it on my thigh. It gives me a chance to study her fingers and collect my thoughts. "Is there some reason you think this is temporary? Is that what it is to you?"

This rollercoaster isn't fun. Hot. Cold. On. Off. It's not good… and we could be so good.

I've seen it. I feel it.

"I'm a planner," she says. "I plan everything. I had my whole life planned out before I wasted almost a decade of it on the wrong guy." She looks down at our hands. "I met him in high school, broke up with him for a while, and then ran into him on campus at U of M. We tried the friends-with-benefits thing for a while, but we eventually ended up getting back together. He had a vasectomy while we were broken up and never bothered to tell me about it when we got back together." She shakes her head. "So much wasted time."

"I know how this is going to sound, but I never liked him," I say. It was a combination of things—seeing him flirt with other girls behind Bella's back, the way he squeezed too hard every time he shook my hand even though he was older, and at least a dozen other things that pissed me off about the guy—but it was obvious he didn't deserve her.

"I was so angry, you know?" She looks away at the bags with unfocused eyes. "He knew. I was always pretty vocal about wanting a kid someday, and he knew he didn't. He stole my best years and expected me to just be cool with it and stay with him anyway when he finally told me." She finally looks up at me. "So Jake may have been the one to leave, but it's because I told him to go."

I touch her cheek and turn her head to face mine. "Those weren't your best years," I say. "I promise."

A few cold raindrops splatter on the concrete around us, so I stop the swing and nod at the garage. "We should go."

She grabs the bag, and our steps speed up when the sporadic drops transition into a steady shower. We're damp and shivering by the time we get to my car. Bella turns the heater on full blast as soon as I turn the key.

We laugh, and she reaches for my hand at the first red light and holds it all the way back to Crosstown. It's still raining, but I have the umbrella from my backseat to cover us this time. She tucks in under my arm, and we run together to get out of the weather.

The main atrium is still buzzing with activity, since it's still early on a rainy weekend. Bella waves at a few people but doesn't stop to chat. She shivers in the cool air of the elevator, so I pull her body against mine. A happy sigh escapes her.

By the time the elevator stops on her floor, her cold hands have untucked and slipped under my shirt. It's my turn to shiver, but she catches my gasp of shock with her lips. The doors slide open on her floor, and she walks us backward without opening her eyes or ending the kiss.

Her back hits the wall, and we spend a minute, maybe more, kissing the way we couldn't in front our family or on a swing in full view of the world. Her grip tightens, and her nails dig into my back when I push my hips against hers.

"Bella," I breathe. My fingers slip under the lacy material of her bra and twist her nipple. "I… We should…"

She nods and slips out of my grasp to rush to her door. She shoves the key in the lock, and I grab her hips from behind and press my cock against her ass. We tumble over the threshold and into her dark apartment. I have just enough time to get the door closed before her hand is on my zipper.

"You really did miss me," I say, working the shell of her ear with my teeth.

"I did." She nods and works her hand into my pants. It feels so good when her fingers finally fucking close around my dick. I'm aching and leaking enough to coat her hand, and she spreads it around all the way down to the base. "I need you to…"

I pull her hand away and spin her around to face the back of her couch. "You need me to what?" I ask, pulling the hem of her sweater up and over her body. My tongue sweeps the curve of her shoulder.

"Oh," she exhales.

I unhook her bra and shove my hands under the material to cup her tits and work her nipples. "What is it you need?"

"You…" She leans forward to push her ass against me, so I lower one hand down her belly, past the hem of her pants and underwear, and straight to that sweet heat I've been missing. "Oh, god," she says, leaning forward over the couch.

She moves against my hand, and it's too much—the sounds and the way she feels squirming and panting under me. But it's still not enough. I let go of her tit long enough to work her pants and mine down enough to get my dick inside her.

"Fuck," I say, pulling her by the hips until my cock disappears completely from view and I have to close my eyes.

"Yes," she pants. "Please."

"Okay." I nod and ease back and forth, back and forth. Letting it build and making sure she's ready. When she starts to tremble, she grips the couch for support. And when she lets go completely, I keep a firm grip on her hips through the final strokes.

We come down together with my cheek against her shoulder and both of us trying to catch our breath. "Mmmm," she hums. "Missed that, too."

I laugh and kiss her skin until it pebbles. "Me, too."

* * *

**A/N - Told y'all to trust the funcle. **

**I've only got one more in the bank. It's with Iris now. I haven't been able to write a thing for the last week or so. Anxiety is a bitch. Stay safe & well. **

**MSC**


	8. January

_**January**_

"5…

4…

3…

2…

1…"

Cries of "Happy New Year!" sound all around us, and the saxist fingers "Auld Lang Syne"from the farthest corner of the stage, but it all fades away when Bella presses her lips against mine. She tucks her freezing cold fingers under the back of my sweater, causing me to stiffen in her arms.

"Sorry," she says, breath on my lips.

"Don't be. Happy New Year."

We kiss and turn slowly at the edge of the dancefloor next to the open terrace door, waiting for the rest of the band to kick in. People cheer and hug, and Alice and Jasper eventually make their way over to toast us.

"Look," she says, pointing outside with her champagne flute. "It's snowing."

It adds to the general excitement, because things like snow during the holidays is the stuff of myth most years around here. Every now and then, we get lucky, and when we do, it's magical.

"Well, look at that," I say. "Maggie was right."

"She told us it would snow," Bella agrees.

"Now we see if anything sticks." I hug her closer and turn us away from the cool breeze. The slow line of people who were outside when it started finally makes their way inside, and someone closes the door.

"I hope it does," she says. "It's been a while."

The champagne flows freely back at our table, and more than once, Bella and Alice veer off into their own conversations about music, politics, and the best barbeque in town. They lean their heads together and laugh, but Bella's fingers stay tangled with mine and she flashes sweet smiles in my direction.

By the time we say our goodbyes and leave, the ground is covered in a thin layer of snow and the flakes have fattened. Bella snuggles under my arm, and we step out of the Hard Rock together onto Beale. The crowd stretches in both directions.

"Do you think the streets are bad?" Bella asks.

"Not yet, but we could go to my place…" I say. "It's closer."

She looks down at the invitation and smiles. "I don't have any clothes."

I lean down to catch her lips with mine and smile against them. "You won't need any."

She melts against me, with lips and tongue and then ice cold fingers under my shirt. "Lead the way," she says.

Flecks of white drift down and land on her loose curls, cheeks, and eyelashes. Our breath clouds the air between us, and the party continues all around us.

"Let's go." I take her hand and maneuver around celebrating couples and through groups of friends. Once we leave Beale for Main, it's easier to move. Our clasped hands swing between us, and the champagne buzz begins to fade in the cold.

A cab approaches in the distance, so I wave down the driver. Bella gives me a grateful look and gets in without question.

"Malco Powerhouse," I tell the driver.

"Thanks," Bella says after the door closes. "I like snow, but not as much when I'm in a dress and heels."

I rest my hand on her thigh and rub my thumb back and forth to warm her skin. It's a quick ride once we've circled the block. Bella rests her head on my shoulder, and we watch partygoers stumble out of the bars and restaurants as we pass by.

The driver drops us off at the theater, and I lead Bella across the empty lot of the farmer's market behind it and over to my building. She huddles close under the small black awning while I unlock the main door and hurries inside once it's open.

"Much better," she says when a blast of warm air envelops us in the lobby.

Confetti, glitter, and corks litter the floor between random foot-sized puddles of melted snow. We step around the mess and make our way to the elevator. The doors slide open a moment after I hit the call button. It's a silent ride to the third floor, with Bella leaning against me and resting her head on my shoulder.

We step out together, and she kisses my neck while I fumble with a second lock. "It's not much," I say, opening the door to the studio space and the few hundred square feet I get to call mine. Most of my furniture's from IKEA, and the place has never looked more like a hipster bachelor pad than through the lens of what Bella's seeing for the first time.

Her eyes land on my keyboard first and the noise-eliminating headphones plugged into it. Then she hones in on the beat-up guitar case in the corner next to the extra-large coffee-colored beanbag a few feet away.

The bed is just a couple of fluffy mattresses in the corner between two perpendicular windows offering a view of the movie theater's entrance. The white sheets glow under the streetlamp. My jeans are spread across the mound of blankets where I tossed them earlier.

"It's nice," Bella says, running her fingers over the brick wall. "Cozy." She turns and grips my jacket. "I like it." Her lips catch mine in a sweet kiss, and she pulls me with her across the room.

I tug the curtains from their holder and let them fall and touch the floor. Then I slide my hands up her sides, letting my thumbs graze her nipples, before reaching behind her to unzip her dress. Her skin is cool underneath, and she shivers at my touch.

"I had no idea you play guitar," she says, trailing her fingers across my chest. "What other secrets are you keeping?"

I laugh and kiss her head. "I also play violin, fiddle, ukulele, and I'm learning the harp."

"The fiddle?"

"I played with a country band in Nashville for six months after I graduated from college."

"How did I not know this?"

I shrug. "You never asked."

She tilts her head back and nibbles my chin. "Any other special talents I should know about?"

"Um…" It's hard to focus with her this close and touching me everywhere. "I do all right with a harmonica, too."

"Of course you're as good with your mouth as you are with your hands," she says, unzipping my pants. "But, then, I knew that already…"

And then it's _her_ hand on my cock, stroking and squeezing and showing how good _she _is. But not for long, since she has other plans that include undressing me first, then lowering the straps of her dress, one at a time, and sliding it down her body.

She pulls me down onto the bed with her and pushes me on my back. I watch her in the moonlight, the way she lines us up and lowers herself slowly… the way her teeth pull back her bottom lip and her eyes slip closed as she moves.

My hands rest on her hips until she grabs them and entwines our fingers to push against me for leverage. It's a slow grind at first, but then she speeds up and tilts her head to the side so her hair spills forward to tickle her nipple. She stills when she comes, and her mouth drops open in a long exhale. I close my eyes and follow.

She leans forward until she's lying flat on my chest, skin to skin. We catch our breath, and she eventually rolls off of me and scoots in close at my side instead.

"Happy New Year," she says quietly.

And I have to agree there's no better way I could've started this year, so I say it back and kiss her hair before drifting off to sleep with her leg draped over mine.

Maggie's muted ringtone wakes us far too early, and a chill slips in between the sheets when Bella leans over the side of the bed to pick up my pants. Once she has my phone in hand, she snuggles into my side for warmth and sets it on my chest.

"Look outside!" Maggie shrieks before I have a chance to say hello. "It snowed all night. It's everywhere!"

"How long have you been up?" I ask.

"Too long," Garrett says on speaker. "We've already built a snowgirl."

A glance at the clock on the table backs him up. It's only 9:00 and they've already built a snowman.

"We're making pancakes," Katie says. "Then we're going to the Shell so Maggie can get in some sledding. You should come. We have a ton of food."

"Um…" I look down at Bella and the small smile on her lips.

"Have you… talked to Bella?" Sometimes I think my sister can read my mind. "She's not answering her phone."

"She's here," I say.

"Well, y'all come on. Wear layers."

"Hurry," Maggie says before a click ends the call.

"I'm guessing you heard all that," I say, running my hand down Bella's back.

She nods. "That girl's such an early bird."

"She gets it from Katie."

"I'm going to need clothes," Bella says. "The streets must be okay, if they're planning to go out soon."

I sit up and look out the chilled window. There's no sign of the street below, just bright puffy snow. "No ice," I say. "We should be good."

She borrows an old pair of sweats and a hoodie, but I'm fresh out of ladies shoes, so she's stuck in her heels until we get to her place. "God, I look ridiculous," she says during the elevator ride to the ground floor.

I grin and shrug. "Just a little." I leave her at the door. "I'll get the car so you don't freeze your toes off."

"My hero," she deadpans.

The snow's crunchy, easy to walk and drive on, but I wait in the car at Crosstown. We both know if I go up with her, the food will be cold by the time we get to our siblings' house. Bella's quick on her own and comes down wearing her BAE shirt over a long-sleeve thermal shirt with jeans and thick black boots that match her black, puffy coat. She gets into the car and pulls a black beanie onto her head.

"Nice shirt," I say, pulling away from the curb.

"You don't have to smirk like that."

"Like what?"

She laughs and shakes her head. "You know what I'm talking about."

I do. Because she's not the only tattle-tale in her family. Garrett might've mentioned that my funcle shirt annoyed Bella, probably more than she wanted to admit.

"You know," I begin, "Maggie was so excited when she found that shirt for you that she tried to give Garrett and Katie some of her chore money to pay for it."

Bella's head whips over to look at me. "Really?"

I nod. "Really."

She looks out the window to hide her smile, but I still catch a glimpse of it in the car door mirror. From the beginning, she worried our relationship would hurt our family. I'm making a case that it's actually made it a little stronger—which will be presented at a later date in case of emergency.

Snow like this is rare in Memphis. We usually get just enough ice to turn the streets into a skating rink. Not today, though. The main streets are clear, and it's an easy drive to Highpoint.

Bella laughs out loud when the Swan house comes into view. There's a snowgirl, all right, and she's got Mickey Mouse ears on her head and a pink cape tied at her neck. And she's not alone. There's a small snowdog a foot away from her base.

"It's a snow Sam," Bella says. "Gah! I can't wait to see them. It feels like it's been a month."

I smile and ease the car to a stop in front of their neighbor's house. I don't want to block anyone's view of Maggie's hard work. She and Sam come flying out the front door before Bella and I make it out of the car.

"I missed youuuuu!" she yells, barreling into Bella's arms first since she's closer. I make my way over to them, and instead of letting go of Bella, Maggie frees one arm to add me to the hug.

"We missed you, too," Bella says.

"Come inside!" Katie calls from the porch. "We have coffee and a ton of food."

"And hot chocolate!" Maggie pulls away and skips up the driveway with Sam at her heels.

Bella reaches for my hand and gives it a tug. "I'm a sucker for hot chocolate," she says.

The gas fireplace is glowing, and open suitcases line the hall outside the laundry room. We follow Maggie and Sam through the house to the kitchen, shedding our coats along the way. Garrett takes them and hangs them on pegs by the backdoor.

Then he greets us with another group hug, but Katie holds up a hand. "You may want to keep your distance from me," she says. "I think I brought back more than t-shirts and sparkly Minnie ears from the happiest place on Earth."

"The food's safe," Garrett says. "Maggie and I did all the work. Dig in."

Maggie talks between bites, filling in the blanks with details about the trip that social media pictures and check-ins left out. They got back yesterday morning, too exhausted for any company but Sam's. Despite a couple of visits from me and being spoiled rotten by my parents, this puppy missed her girl. She's still not over it, it seems, and stays curled on the floor right at Maggie's feet.

In true Maggie fashion, she's ready to go the moment she finishes her pancakes. "All the snow at the Shell will be gone if we don't hurry," she says. "I want to use the sled PopPop brought over this morning."

"Dad was here this morning?" Bella asks as Maggie runs down the hall to her room.

"You know he's always up at dawn," Garrett says. "He and Mom stopped by to bring the sled and some elderberry syrup for Katie." He stands and starts to clear the dishes, and Bella jumps to her feet to help.

"I'll wash. You dry," she says. "We'll get done faster that way so Maggie won't have to wait."

Katie waves a hand. "Y'all go ahead. I'll stick them in the dishwasher before I park myself on the couch."

"At least let us do that," Bella says. "You go and rest."

Katie lifts her mug and nods. "Okay." She tilts her head for me to follow her to the living room. It takes her a minute to get settled and tuck the fuzzy throw around her legs. "So, how are _things_?" she asks quietly with a glance over her shoulder to check that Garrett and Bella are still busy.

"Good." I lean back and rest my head on the cushion. "Really good."

She smiles. "Glad to hear it."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about us. I was trying to let Bella decide when and how." I shake my head. "_If_."

"I get it." She gives me a smug smile. "You know Mom and Renee are already talking about a wedding and babies, right?"

"That didn't take long."

Maggie runs into the room and plops down by the fireplace to pull her boots on. "Did you put on the thermals we found this morning?" Katie asks her. Maggie nods, and Katie turns her attention back to me. "You're not at all freaked out by that?"

I shake my head. "Not at all."

"Good." She smiles again and sips her hot tea.

Maggie stands when she done and yells, "Come on, Daddy! I'm ready to gooooo."

Katie sighs. "All drama, that one."

Garrett and Bella join us, pulling on their coats. "All right," he says. "All right." He stops at the back of the couch to look down at Katie. "Dishes are running. Table's wiped down. All you need to do is get some rest."

"Sam." Maggie pats the couch next to Katie. Always eager to please, Sam jumps up and sits obediently. "Take care of Mommy. We'll be back in a little while." The puppy whines a little bit when we get to the door, but she stays when Maggie tells her to and settles on Katie's lap.

Garrett hits the key fob, and the doors of his Honda Pilot unlock. I get into the backseat with Maggie to keep her entertained and to let Bella have the front. She and Garrett talk about work stuff while Maggie and I attend to important stuff, like continuing our ongoing Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament.

There's a crowd of people leaving the park when we arrive, so we're able to find a parking spot close to the Shell. Maggie's unbuckled and tugging on the door handle before Garrett even cuts the engine. "Let's go. Let's go!" she says.

We follow her out of the SUV, and Garrett stops at the back to retrieve the bright blue plastic sled the Swan parents dropped off this morning. Maggie takes it from him and runs ahead of us. Her knit hat flies off in the breeze, and she pauses long enough to circle back and grab it. Her long brown hair whips in the wind behind her, and her cheeks glow pink in the cold. It's striking how much she resembles the woman sliding her gloved palm against my bare one to take my hand.

"Here we go," Bella says with a grin.

And I'm not freaked out—not at all—because I want to do this kind of stuff with her for as long as she'll let me.

* * *

**A/N – Ah. Some happy times. We didn't get any snow here this year, which was surprisingly kind of a bummer since I normally hate the stuff. I kind of missed it though, so this was maybe a little bit of wish fulfillment fluff on my part. Whatever. We need a little fluff, right? **

**Guys, if you're like me and trying to bury yourself in fiction right now…go and read "Body of Christ" by Belladonna and TheFictionFreak here on FFN. The UST is off the damn charts and unlike me, those rock stars are pumping out chapters regularly. **

**I've also lowered the price of the Kindle version of my book on Amazon to $0.99. It may take a while for the new price to kick in, but you can get it cheap soon if you want it. Look for "Higher Ground" by Nan Lowe. **

**Feel free to hit me with your recs, too. **

**I'm hoping to start working on the next chapter of this story soon, but I can't make any promises. Still dealing with crushing anxiety issues, and I'm also starting to work from home this next week. That will take a hot minute to adjust. I'll try, though. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. Stay well & safe.**

**MSC xoxo **


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